Future Erased
by singing like blue
Summary: One girl. Two worlds. Two Doctors. Two friends. One main enemy. The chance's of Summer's survival is limited, but really, when wasn't it?
1. Beginning

_warnings - this story has heavy spoilers, violence and romance scenes, read at your own risk_

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><p><strong>dedication : dedication is to the makers of this wonderful show, thank you, we don't know what we'd do without Doctor Who<strong>

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><p><strong>▌Future Erased<br>**_an OC story by we are the hurricane_

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><p><em>▒ i. in the beginning<em>

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><p>I'm in London.<p>

This doesn't sound very weird. People go to London all the time. But, only a few minutes ago I was in Australia, talking to my friends after school. Being completely innocent. Just being a seventeen year old girl trying to study for her higher school certificate, having to try and put her past behind her and move on. To try and find that, maybe, just maybe, what would happen to her in the future and the past wouldn't happen and she'd just be normal again.

But now my normality is gone.

I got whisked away by my future-self and her (also mine, if you think about it) husband and landed here. Somewhere I shouldn't be. Really, I should be back at home in the school's boarding school, at this time I would've gotten started on my homework, without this second-hand bag on my back, and the contents of it spewing out as it is _incredibly_ small.

I want to go home. But I can't. Because here's the catch. I'm not just a country away. I'm a universe away, and almost eighteen years backwards from my time. Welcome, Summer, to the 23rd of July, 1999. The day you were born.

It's two in the morning and I'm standing in front of a shop called Henriks. Never seen it before, never want to again. I want to see a shop like Jay Jays or Cotton On, something familiar, something I visit whenever my school gives me some recreation money to go buy some clothes. But instead, I get bloody Henriks, which doesn't look like a good shop at all. I look like an idiot in my school uniform, which is freezing me to death. It was March back in Australia, so I'm in my summer uniform. Before I starve to death, I'm going to freeze to death. My future-self told me to wait here. So here I'm waiting. And no one's coming.

I better be waiting for something good. Something occurs to me that if I was waiting for something bad, I wouldn't have been brought here. I just don't see my future-self taking me somewhere that I'd bore myself to death.

While I'm waiting for something that isn't coming, the crack in the walls of the universe are closing. I might never get home. Or, I won't, seeing as my future-self told me that she lives in this universe. With my husband. Who looks completely hot, but, seriously, he wears a bowtie. The only guy who is allowed to wear the bowtie is Brendon Urie, but apparently not, seeing how much my future-self loves it.

And, also my future husband is an alien travelling in a blue box with me. The funniest thing is, this world is a TV show back where I come from. There's just stories! By Moffat and Davies. Nothing special, except to fangirls like me. And, it doesn't work out. The Doctor marries River Song. So how can he be married to me? Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey, as he'd say. Great. Bloody awesome. Spoilers anyday.

I need clothes. Lots of them. My mustard coloured dress is just to disgusting and cold. People can see right through to my bra in this light. I had to go and wear a white one today. There are no shops open on the street and I don't have any money in pounds, Only dollars. And, anyway, maybe this universe has a different currency altogether. Which means all my money is useless. Anyway, I think it would be suspicious if I give money that says it's made in 2015. I'd look like an idiot.

But, I already do. I'm an Australian girl in her summer uniform in 1999, the year she was born. I'm stuck in a parallel universe in London on the day I was born with only the Matrix to look forward to and I'm waiting for something that still hasn't come. This day is becoming the worst in my life.

But, knowing me, there are much worst days in my past and future. I'm probably the luckiest and the unluckiest girl in the whole of the universes.

I turn around to see someone's coming. And he's very familiar. He has big ears and a leather jacket.

The Ninth Doctor.

**A/N - Please don't alert/favourite this story without a review.**


	2. Prequel

**A/N - **this chapter was written in a hurry, so it is very short, I understand this, and I'm sorry. Next chapter is very large, so it makes up for it.

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><p><em>▒ ii. prequel<em>

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><p>It's been two months since the Doctor picked me up. It's weird travelling in time, back in my time it would have been May, but things have changed. I'm still 17, but I haven't told the Doctor that. Still, it was pretty hard to lie about my accent. An Australian in the middle of London outside Henriks at two o'clock in the morning? Pretty weird.<p>

If I'm right, the Doctor probably only just regenerated when he met me (and I'm saying met me because I already met him). Which means he only just did the Time War. And killed the Time Lords. So, we must be nearing where he meets Rose. It will be awesome to meet Rose! She was always my favourite companion and I always thought the Doctor and her should be together. But I guess things are different now...

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><p>"Where to today?" I asked as I walked into the console room.<p>

"I traced an Nestene consciousness on Earth. Looks like we need to investigate." Just like I thought. We're off to meet Rose. "I don't know what that means, but I will go with it," I lied. It's getting easier. I wonder when I tell him.

"Good, because I'm probably going to need your help. C'mon." He ran out of the Tardis with me close behind.


	3. Rose

**A/N - **this chapter is a rewrite of the episode, Rose, read at your own risk

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><p><em>▒ iii. rose<em>

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><p>"Doctor, like it?" I show him a dress and act all silly, adding a twirl.<p>

"Not the time, Summer." He's walking with Rose, who I supposedly haven't met yet.

"Who are you two, then? Who's that lot down there? I said, who are they?" God, Rose is fierce in real life!

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof. Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He shows her the electronic bomb. "So!" He opens the fire exit for Rose. "I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process. But don't worry about me, no. Go home, go on! Go and have your lovely beans on toast. Summer, make sure she doesn't follow me." I mock salute him. Rose and I go outside. "I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?"

"Rose."

"Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life." I run away and Rose follows. We cross the road and I run off. "Hey, where are you going?" Rose calls for me.

"To save his life." I run to the Tardis and get in. "Okay, Sexy," I say, using the name the 11th Doctor uses for the Tardis. "I have a Time Lord to save." She starts to move and, finally, as it felt like years, she lands. I run for the door and see the Doctor waiting on the roof for me, surrounded by fire. Luckily there's a tiny hole in the circle of fire he's standing in. He runs forward and gets in. "Done trying to get yourself killed?" I ask.

"Not quite. Don't think we're done yet."

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><p>"Doctor, this is a cat flap of someone's flat and you're sonicing it." It finally falls loose and he flicks it. A woman, Rose, of course, comes looking. She bends down, sees our face, and opens the door. I don't know how to explain it.<p>

"What're you doing here?" The Doctor looks genuinely confused.

"I live here."

"Well, what did you do that for?"

"Because I do! And I'm only at home because someone blew up my job." The Doctor gets out his sonic screwdriver. "Don't go bleeping her, Doctor," I groan. I sound like Donna. Great!

"Must've got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" He knocks on Rose's forehead. "No, bonehead. Bye then!" He starts to leave, but Rose pulls him back inside. "You, inside. Right now." I go in and she shuts the door.

"Who is it?" Jackie asks from the other room. Jackie who slaps the Doctor. Now, that, I'd love to see! "It's about last night, they're part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes."

"She deserves compensation."

"Huh, we're talking millions." I walk ahead and the Doctor stays at Jackie's room. Even though I know the whole I'm in my dressing gown conversation, I am still jealous. I get married to him one day. Even though future self didn't tell me, I saw the identical rings with Galifreyian symbols on the wedding finger. It's not hard to find out.

"Don't mind the mess. Do you want a coffee?"

"Not for me, thanks, not a coffee sort of person."

"Might as well, thanks! Just milk." The Doctor said as he came in the room. Oh, the British, they probably meant tea. Still won't have it. "We should go to the police. Seriously. All of us." The Doctor picks up a gossip magazine. "That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien."

"I'm not blaming you, even if it was just sort of joke that went wrong." I go to the kitchen window and talk to her. "It wasn't a joke."

"Good. You two don't look like two people who'd joke around. Then, what was it? They said on the news they'd found a body."

"Can't tell you that."

"Well, anyway, if we're going to go to the police, I want to know what I'm saying. I want you two to explain everything."

"What's that then? You got a cat?" The Doctor asks.

"No. We did have, but there's these strays, they come in off the estate. Here's your coffee." She puts it on the coffee table while the Doctor is acting like he's being strangled by a plastic hand. "I told Mickey to chuck that out. Honestly, give a man a plastic hand, anyway, I don't even know your names. Doctor, what was it?"

"Oh, I'm Summer and he's the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" I felt like I'm missing something here. Hold on...

"Rose, he's not acting." The Doctor rolls his eyes at me and tries harder to get it off. I help him and it finally comes off. But then it goes to Rose. She screams and we try to get it off. Rose crashes into the coffee table, breaking it and then rolls onto the floor. The Doctor pushes her back onto the sofa and gets out the sonic screwdriver, disabling the hand. "It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go, you see?" He tosses it to her. "Armless."

"Do you think?" She whacks him on the shoulder. "Ow!"

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><p>"Hold on a minute, you can't just go swanning off!"<p>

"Yes we can. Here I am, this is me, swanning off. Summer only follows me. See ya!"

"Thanks!" I say.

"No problem."

"That arm was moving, it tried to kill me!"

"Ten out of ten for observation."

"You can't just walk away, that's not fair! You've got to tell me what's going on."

"No I don't." We reach the bottom of the stairs and go through the doors. "Alright then, I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking."

"Is that supposed to sound tough?"

"Sort of?"

"Doesn't work."

"Who are you two?"

"We told you. That's Summer Watts and I'm the Doctor!"

"Yeah, but Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor."

"Hello!"

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?"

"Sort of."

"Come on. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?"

"No. We were just passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"But what have I done wrong? How come those plastic things keep coming after me?"

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you! You were an accident, you got in the way, that's all."

"It tried to kill me!"

"It was after us, not you! Last night, in the shop, we were there, you blundered in. almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, we were tracking it down, it was tracking us down, the only reason it fixed on you is that you met us."

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you two."

"Sort of, yeah."

"How sort of?"

"It revolves around me, not Summer."

"You're full of it!" Rose and I say at the same time.

"Sort of, yeah."

"But all this plastic stuff, who else knows about it?"

"No one."

"What, you two are on your own?"

"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!" Rose takes the plastic hand from him. "Okay, start from the beginning."

"If you're gonna go with this living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do, how did you kill it?"

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead."

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control." There's an awkward silence as Rose thinks. "Are you alright?" I ask.

"Yeah. So, who's controlling it, then?"

"Long story."

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that all about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" The Doctor and I laugh at her joke. "No." The Doctor says.

"Wish it were that simple."

"I know."

"It's not a price war." We laugh at his joke, but then the Doctor becomes serious. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?"

"No."

"But you're still listening." She stops and the Doctor and I walk on. "Really though, Doctor, Summer. Tell me, who are you?" I keep on walking because I know what he's going to say. I go into the Tardis and wait for him. He comes in a short while later.

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><p>The Doctor finally comes in after a hour. "Where were you?" I ask.<p>

"Saving lives, again. We've got a visitor." Suddenly, Rose runs in. She looks around, then runs straight back out again. "I bet you ten bucks that she's checking the whole bigger on the inside thing."

"It's London, you bet me ten quid."

"Don't have pounds."

"Well, no betting."

"It's gonna follow us!" Rose finally comes in.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute." I walk towards her and say, "Are you alright?" She shakes her head. "Where do you want to start?"

"Um... the inside's bigger than the outside?"

"Yes."

"It's alien."

"Yup."

"Are you alien?"

"Nah, I'm not. Human as they come. He is, though." Rose stares at him. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah," Rose replies, just a little too quickly.

"It's called the Tardis, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relevant Dimension In Space." Rose sobs. "It's okay-"

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?"

I use my memory from the show and say, "Nah, he's alive. They would need him to be alive so they could make the plastic copy."

"Well, that's not very good now, seeing as you're just gonna let him melt!"

"Melt?" The Doctor was looking at us and not at the head so he turned around and saw it melting. "Oh, no no no no no no NO!" He started running frantically around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"What are you doing?" Rose asks.

"Reviving the signal, it's fading. Wait, I've got it..." He looks at the screen. "No no no no no No!" The Tardis shakes as the engines move. "Almost there! Here we go!" The engines stop and the Doctor and I run out the Tardis doors.

"You can't go out there, it's not safe!"

"I lost the signal, I got _so _close." Rose hops out of the Tardis after me, looking confused again. "We've moved! Does it fly?"

"Disappears there, reappears here, you wouldn't understand." Well, it does fly one day. "But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose."

"It melted with the head, are you going to witter on all night? Seriously, Summer didn't ask half the questions you did. She just wanted to know if it had a concert hall." So? I need to groove! "I'll have to tell his mother..." Rose says, not really listening. Hold on, didn't Mickey's mother leave when he was only little? Didn't he live with his grandmother until she died? The Doctor looks at Rose questioningly. "Mickey! I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again!" The Doctor rolls his eyes, unconcerned. "You were right, you ARE alien." She turns to walk away.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey-"

"Yeah, he's not a kid, thanks."

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every _stupid_ ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?"

"Alright?"

"Yes! It is!" Rose shakes her head disbelievingly. Now, this is good telly. Here I am, leaning against the Tardis, listening to them fight.

"If you are an alien, then how come you sound like you're from the North?" Now, Summer, don't laugh...

"Lots of planets have a North." I start laughing uncontrollably, falling to my knees. Gets me everytime. Even better in person. Don't get me near Jack, though. That's worse. "Done?" The Doctor says as I get up. "Yep." I reply, saying it exactly like he does.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose asks.

"It's a telephone box from the 1960s." He pats the Tardis fondly, grinning. "It's a disguise." Rose grins and shakes her head. "Okay. And this living plastic, what's it got against us?"

"Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth... dinner!"

"Any way of stopping it?" Grinning, the Doctor produces a tube of blue anti-plastic from his jacket. "Anti-plastic!"

"Anti-plastic..."

"Anti-plastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Hold on... hide what?"

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"What's it looks like?"

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London." He paces around, stopping to lean against the railings of the bridge we're standing on. Behind him, the London Eye looms above us, but he doesn't seem to see it. "A huge circular metal structure... like a dish... like a wheel. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible."

"Well, it could be." I say, giving him clues.

"What?" Rose and I nod towards the Eye behind him. He turns around, and then turns back to us, completely nonplussed. "What?"

"Oh, just use the eyes God gave you," I say, frustrated. He turns around again, and finally, it clicks. "Oh, fantastic!" He grins at us insanely and runs off.

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><p>"Think of it. Plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables..."<p>

"The breast implants..." Rose mutters under her breath. Oh. My. GaGa!

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath." I run off and find the entrance to a manhole at the foot of the wall. "What about down here?" The Doctor and Rose runs over. "Looks good to me."

The Doctor opens the door to another chamber and we go down some steps. The Doctor points to a huge, orange, wobbling mess in the middle of the chamber. The Nestene Consciousness. "The Nestene Consciousness," The Doctor explains. "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go." Rose says, eager to leave.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance." We go down some more steps. The Doctor leans over the railings and addresses the Consciousness. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract. According to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." The Consciousness flobbles around a bit. "Thank you. That I might have permission to approach." Meanwhile, as Rose paces around in the background, she spots Mickey and runs to him. The Doctor rolls his eyes. I foinllow Rose up the steps to where Mickey is hiding. "Oh, my God!" Rose squeals. "Mickey! It's okay! It's alright!" She squats down next to him.

"That thing down there," Mickey says. "The liquid, Rose, it can talk!"

"You're stinking! Doctor, they kept him alive!"

"Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy."

"You knew that and you never said?" Rose says, looking really angry.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" Rose and I help Mickey to his feet. The Doctor approaches the Consciousness.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilisation by means of warped, shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" The plastic globbers in what appears to be a negative manner. "Oh, don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!" The plastic rears what would appear to be it's head angrily. "I. Am. Talking! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf, please, just go." Suddenly, two Autons approach the Doctor from behind. "Doctor!" I scream. Too late. The Autons grab him. One of them takes the anti-plastic out of his jacket pocket. "That was just insurance! I wasn't going to use it!" The plastic globbers angrily.

"I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not... what do you mean?" Doors above him open to reveal the Tardis. "Oh, oh, no, honestly, no! Yes, that's my ship." The plastic roars. "That's not true. I should know. I was there. I fought in the war, it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

"What's it doing?" Rose asks me.

"It's the Tardis!" I answer, copying what the Doctor says on the show. "The Nestene has identified its superior technology, it's terrified! It's going to the final base. It's starting the invasion! We have to get out!" Rose ignores me and dials a number on her phone. "Mum?" There's a pause as Jackie answers. "Where are you mum? Go home! Just go home, right now! Mum! Mum?" Jackie's hung up. Great.

"It's the activation signal!" The Doctor screams. "It's transmitting!"

"The end of the world..." Rose mutters. The Doctor is still being held hostage. "Get out, Summer, Rose. Just get out! Run!" Part of the ceiling falls in. "The stairs have gone!" Rose screams. I look around and see the chain Rose swings on in the episode. Sorry Rose! It's my turn. I run to it and pick up the axe beside it. "I've got no home." I hit the chain. "No home." I hit the chain harder. "No job." And the chain comes loose. "But I'll tell you what I have got. Glee club rehearsals. I was the leader." I grab the chain. "I was friggin Rachel Berry." I run over the edge and fly through the air. I kick the Autons holding the Doctor hostage into the Nestene, anti-plastic and all. The Consciousness starts to writhe and scream. I land safely in the Doctor's arms at the other side of the gap. "Now we're in trouble." I say.

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><p>"A fat lot of good you were!" Mickey's whimpering in the corner of an alleyway we turned up in. The Doctor and I are standing in the doorway of the Tardis. "Nestene Consciousness?" The Doctor says. He clicks his fingers. "Easy."<p>

"You were useless in there," Rose says. "You'd be dead if it wasn't for Summer."

"Yes. Yes, I would." He looks at me. "Thank you." He says in a quiet voice. Woah. "Right then!" He says, all chipper again. "We'll be off! Unless, uh... I don't know... you could come with us." Rose looks at him and puts her hands in her pockets. "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know, it goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Don't!" Mickey screams. "He's an alien! He's a thing!"

"He's NOT invited. What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh... anywhere."

"Is it always this dangerous?"

"Not all the time." I say. Mickey still puts his arms around Rose's legs like a little child. "Yeah, I can't, I've um... gotta go and find my mum and um... someone's gotta look after this stupid lump... So..."

"Okay. See you around." He closes the door and we walk up to the console. I sit down on the chair. "You forgot to tell her something." I say.

"What?" He asks.

"Something important that would change her mind."

"What would change... Oh." He flicks some more switches and we materialise back into the alleyway. He runs to the door, opens it and says, "By the way, did I mention, it also travels in time?" He runs back up to the console leaving the door ajar. Series 1, here we come!


	4. The End Of The World

**A/N - **this chapter is the rewrite of The End Of The World, read ahead if you have watched it

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><p><em>▒ iv. the end of the world<em>

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><p>Rose runs into the Tardis and joins the Doctor and I. "Right then, Rose Tyler, you tell me, where do you want to go? Backwards or forwards in time. What's it going to be?"<p>

"Forwards," Rose says after putting it into consideration. The Doctor presses a few buttons. "How far?"

"One hundred years," Rose says, picking a random number. He pulls a lever and turns a knob. The engines lurch and then stop after a few seconds. "There you go, step outside those doors, it's the twenty-second century."

"You're kidding."

"That's a bit boring though, do you want to go further?" I laugh at her face. She's so surprised! "Fine by me!" The Doctor starts up the engines again. When they stop, he looks at her. "Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the New Roman Empire."

"You think you're so impressive," Rose teases.

"I AM so impressive!"

"You wish!"

"Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go." He revs up the engine and pumps a lever furiously. "Hold on!" With a pinging noise, the Tardis stops. "Where are we?" Rose asks. The Doctor just gestures towards the doors. Rose smiles excitedly. "What's out there?" The Doctor gestures again. Rose steps outside the doors. He turns back to me and says, "Are you going to come or what?" I get off the chair and run towards the door. He holds my hand and we go outside. We find ourselves in some kind of wooden room. The Doctor, still holding my hand with his left hand, takes out his sonic screwdriver and opens the shutters of an enormous window. We go down the stairs and find ourselves looking down on the planet Earth. "You lot," The Doctor says, "You spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This is the year five-point-five-slash-apple-slash-twenty-six. Five billion years in your future. This is the day... hold on..." He looks at his watch. "This is the day the sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world."

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><p>Overhead, we hear a computerised voice talking to the people on board the ship. "Shuttles 5 and 6 now docking. Guests are reminded that platform 1 forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite."<p>

"So," Rose says, "When it says 'guests' does that mean people?"

"Depends what you mean by people," The Doctor points out.

"I mean people. What do you mean?"

"Aliens."

"What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?" The Doctor starts to open a door with his sonic. "It's not really a spaceship. More like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn."

"What for?"

"Fun." He finally unlocks the door and we walk through the door into a large observation gallery. "Mind you, when I said the great and the good, what I mean is, the rich."

"But hold on, they did this once on 'Newsround Extra'; the sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years!"

"Millions!" I say, trying to convince myself the Earth won't explode. Friggin' Russell T Davies!

"But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there?" He points out of a window at tiny glints of light orbiting the Earth. "Gravity satellite. That's holding back the sun." Rose and I peer out the window at Earth. "The planet looks the same as ever," Rose says. "I thought the continents shifted and things."

"They did. And the Trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over!"

"How long has it got?" Rose asks. The Doctor looks at his watch. "About half an hour. And the planet gets roasted." I zone out of their conversation and look at the Earth. I grew up there. Well, not exactly that Earth, but still. I went through Leona's death on Earth. I met the Doctor on Earth. I was born on Earth. Now it dies. All those memories. Shattered to pieces.

"Who the hell are you?" I turn around and see the blue steward. "Oh!" The Doctor says. "That's nice, thanks."

"But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked! They're on their way any second now!"

"That's me, I'm a guest, look! I've got an invitation!" He shows the steward the psychic paper. "Look, there you see? It's fine, see? The Doctor and Summer Watts plus one. I'm the Doctor, this is Summer Watts and this is Rose Tyler. Rose's my plus one. That's all right?"

"Well, obviously," The steward says. The Doctor grins. "Apologies, et cetera, if you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy!" The Doctor nods at him. After the steward walks off, the Doctor shows Rose the psychic paper. "The paper's slightly psychic. Shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."

"He's blue," Rose points out.

"Yeah."

"Okay..."

"We have in attendance the Doctor, Summer Watts and Rose Tyler," the steward says, speaking through a microphone at the other end of the suite. "Thank you! All staff to their positions." He claps his hands and a lot of little blue people start scurrying around. "Hurry now! Thank you, as quick as we can! Come along, come along! And now, might I introduce the next honoured guest, representing the forest of Cheem, we have Trees. Namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa." The three Trees walk through the doors. "There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you can keep the room circulating, thank-you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, the Moxx of Balboon." The Doctor smiles cheerily, as Rose looks on bewildered. "And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." The Doctor chuckles at the look on Rose's face. "The inventors of hyposlip travel systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you! Cal 'Spark Plug'. Mr and Mrs Pakoo. The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light." The Tree known as Jabe approaches the Doctor, either side of her, her companions are holding plant trays with little shoots in them. "The Gift of Peace," Jabe says, handing the Doctor a cutting of the plant. "I bring up a cutting of my Grandfather."

"Thank you!" He gives it to me and says, "Yes, gifts, erm..." He clears his throat and starts feeling his jacket for something, finding nothing, he says, "I give you in return, air from my lungs." He blows gently onto Jabe's face, who closes her eyes briefly. "How... intimate."

"There's more where that came from," The Doctor replies, flirtatiously. God, I'm jealous. "I bet there is..." Rose has the sort of look on her face that is to be expected of someone who had just witnessed their friend flirting with a tree.

"Sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe," The steward announces. Jack comes in, now a huge head in an equally huge jar. He's wheeled through the doors. "Doctor," I say. "I'm just going to talk to the Face of Boe."

"Okay." He's not really listening as the Moxx of Balboon has come up to him. I walk over to Jack and walk with him. "Jack!" I squeal in a whisper.

"Nice to see you too, as always, Summer," He whispers back.

"How are you going?"

"Not too good, stuck looking like a head for the last two billion years."

"You're saying it like you're not actually a big humongous head."

"Without hair."

I laugh and say, "Without hair."

"It's actually a disguise. I'm stuck inside this machine that looks like a head."

"What? So, you're really in there? Amongst all the skin and stuff?"

"I was getting noticed too much. The Doctor said to go into hiding. Not this incarnation, the eleventh one. You know, because of the parallel universe thing."

"So, I tell people that."

"Rose and I, not the Doctor. At least, not that I know of. Though I always told you too."

"Well, I can't exactly yet. I've only been with him for two months. But hold on. Rose stays?"

"Yeah..." I'm interrupted by the steward. "And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and Trees and Multiforms. Consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the Last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen." The sliding doors open and Cassandra comes in. "Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference!" Cassandra explains, "Look how thin I am." Jack and I chuckle at that.

"Thin and dainty! I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturise me, moisturise me." One of the two men in white body suits who wheeler her in is holding a canister which he sprays onto Cassandra. "Truly, I am The Last Human. My father was a Texan. My mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in the soil. I have come to honour them and... say goodbye. Oh, no tears." One of the bodyguards wipe her eyes. "No tears. I'm sorry. But behold! I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg." One of the staff comes in and displays the egg to the room. "Legend says it had a wingspan of 50 feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband?" The room laughs except for Rose and I, who is walking around Cassandra. "Who knows? Oh don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines!" Behind her, a large jukebox is wheeled into the room. "And here, another rarity. According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!" One of the staff presses a button on the 'iPod' jukebox and a record fallsinto place. The jukebox starts playing Tainted Love by Soft Cell. God, I love that song.

"Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in 30 minutes," The Steward tells us.

"Well, I must go, Jack," I say to him. "I'll be back later."

"See ya." I see Rose running out of the room and the Doctor following her. I run after them.

* * *

><p>"Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery 15 pleases report to the steward's office immediately. Guests are reminded that use of all teleportation devices is strictly forbidden under Peace Treaty five-point-four-slash-cup-slash-sixteen. Thank you." Crap.<p>

* * *

><p>The Tardis is being dragged away by some of the staff. "Oi," The Doctor exclaims, "Now, careful with that. Park it properly. No scratches." One of them walks up to the Doctor, squeaks at him, hands him a card and walks away again. The Doctor reads it, it says 'Have a nice day'. We look at the retreating staff's back as if he or she is completely off his or her rocker and we walk off.<p>

* * *

><p>"Rose? Are you in there?" The Doctor opens the door and we walk in to a gallery. Rose is sitting on one of the steps. "Aye aye!" We sit on the other side of stairs. "What do you think, then?"<p>

"Great! Yeah, fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper..." We laugh at that. "They're just so... alien." The Doctor looks at her questioningly. "The aliens. Are so alien. You look at 'em... and they're alien."

"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South," The Doctor jokes.

"Where are you two from?" Rose asks, as if looking at us properly for the first time.

"All over the place. Well, Summer is Australian, but I found her in London in 1999. Still won't tell me why she was there."

"They all speak English."

"No, you just hear English. It's a gift of the Tardis. Telepathic field, gets inside your brain: translates."

"Well, in a good way..."

"Your machine gets inside my head," Rose says colder, starting to get angry. "It gets inside and it changes my mind, and you didn't even ask?"

"I didn't think about it like that," The Doctor says, thrown.

"No! You were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South! Who are you then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you? If you don't tell Summer and I, maybe we shouldn't be here!" The Doctor stands up and looks away from her. "I'm just the Doctor."

"From what planet?"

"Rose, stop it," I say.

"I want to know!"

"JUST STOP!" I scream. I get a hold of myself and say, "This is what he is, right here, right now, okay? All that counts is right here and right now." Rose just stares at me, while the Doctor is grinning.

"Earth Death in 20 minutes. Earth Death in 20 minutes." I go down to the bottom steps and look at the Earth. "Alright," Rose says, not as angry, "As my mate Shareen says... don't argue with the designated driver..." She gets her mobile out of her pocket. "Can't exactly call for a taxi... there's no signal. We're out of range... just a bit."

"Tell you what..." The Doctor says, all cheery again. "With a little bit of jiggery pokery..." I can't see what they're doing. "Is that a technical term, 'jiggery pokery'?" Rose asks.

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery, what about you?"

"Nah, failed hullabaloo."

"Oooh. There you go." I zone out of their conversation and stare at the Earth again. Suddenly, the ship shudders. "That's not supposed to happen..." The Doctor says. A message comes over the loudspeaker. "Honoured guests may be reassured that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence, thanking you."

"Let's go!" The Doctor says, and runs out the door, with Rose and I following him. "I loved Allonsy..." I mutter.

* * *

><p>"That wasn't a gravity pocket," The Doctor explains. "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that." He fiddles with a control panel next to the door to the Manchester Suite. Jabe approaches them. "What do you think, Jabe?" The Doctor says. He didn't even see her come! This is definitely a television show. "Listened to the engines, they pitched up about 30 hertz, is that dodgy or what?"<p>

"It's the sound of metal, it doesn't make any sense to me."

"Where's the engine room?"

"I don't know... but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest's suite, I could show you. And..." she looks at me. "Your wife."

"Oh, we're not a couple," The Doctor and I say in unison.

"Partner?"

"No," The Doctor answers.

"Concubine?"

"Nope."

"Prostitute?"

"Whatever I am," I say, "It must be invisible, do you mind? Tell you what, you two go and pollinate, I'm going to catch up with my friend, the Face of Boe." I walk away.

"Don't start a fight!"

"More like a flirt..." I mumble.

"So, Jacky boy, how are you doin'?" I creep up from behind him. He takes a long time to turn around, seeing as he's a big face and he's being wheeled by two people. "Summer!"

"Yeah, I'm back, after screaming at Rose and saving the Doctor from explaining about Gallifrey. Did I also mention that the Tardis got taken away from us?" He chuckles. "I always love your sarcasm. Never changes..."

"Why would it?" I ask.

"No reason."

"You're hiding something."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Do you want to come inside?" Jack asks, changing the conversation.

"Inside where?"

"The Face Of Boe."

"Okay."

"Stand back then." I get a weird sensation and then I leave Satellite 1.

And I'm inside the Face of Boe.

And that's the first time I saw Captain Jack Harkness.

And, god damnit, he is so friggin sexy!

* * *

><p><strong>(A.N- Sashaxh wants no more spoilers so I'm not going to put in the talk that Jack and Summer have because there's a LOT of spoilers in it. If you want to know what Jack and Summer say in the talk, PM me and I will give it to you.)<strong>

* * *

><p>The Face of Boe looks weird in the inside. It's bigger on the inside and looks just like the Hub in Torchwood. Figures. God, Jack loves Torchwood. "Do you want to go?" Jack says. "I'm sure the Doc is getting into trouble again. You may need to help."<p>

"If that's alright. I mean, I'd love to stay, but I would also like to see the Earth explode in person."

"Okay, hold up." He activates the teleport and I'm taken back to Satellite 1. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, cool. See ya." At that moment, Jabe and the Doctor comes into the room. "The metal machine confirms," Jabe says. "The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Satellite 1."

"How's that possible? Our private rooms are protected by a code wall," Cassandra says, acting all innocent. I wish I could say that she did it. "Moisturise me, moisturise me." The Doctor takes the destabilised spider out of Jabe's hand. "Summon the Steward!" The Moxx of Balboon shouts.

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." Jabe says. There is a general gasp of shock. "Who killed him?" The Moxx of Balboon screams.

"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe! He invited us!" Jack shakes his head. "Talk to the face! Talk to the face!" Now, that's it.

"Oi, don't go accusing people when you don't know it was them. Oh, and don't go calling yourself the last human when you're just skin!"

"You're friends with the blonde woman, aren't you?"

"Oi, stop it, both of you," The Doctor says. "Easy way of finding out who the culprit was. Someone brought a little pet on board." He shows everyone the spider. "Let's send him back to Master." He places the spider down on the floor. The spider scuttles along to Cassandra and looks up at her. Cassandra looks shifty for a moment, but the spider moves on to the feet of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme. "The Adherents of the Repeated Meme!" Cassandra squeals. "J'accuse!"

"That's all very well, and really kind of obvious, but if you stop and think about it..." The Adherents of the Repeated Meme tries to strike him, but he catches its arm and rips it off. "A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are. An idea." He rips a wire out of the arm and all of the Repeated Meme crumple into a bundle of black cloaks. Everyone gasps while Cassandra rolls her eyes. "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the _real_ trouble maker. Go on, Jimbo!" He nudges the spider with his foot. "Go home!" The spider ambles straight back to Cassandra. Ha! "I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed." The Doctor raises his eyebrows. Come on, Cassandra's catchphrases suck. "At arms!" The two bodyguards with canisters on either side of her raise their canisters. The Doctor steps back, mockingly. "What are you going to do, moisturise me?" He says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"With acid. As well as your lady friend and tree. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

"Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid's that?"

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous."

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money," I say, stepping forward. "But really, does money matter?"

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune. I am The Last Human, not you, not your precious friend. Me."

"Arrest her!" The Moxx of Balboon screams.

"Oh, shut it, pixie. I've still got my final option."

"Earth Death in 3 minutes." The computer informs us.

"And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you, I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? "Burn, baby, burn."

"Then you'll burn with us!" Jabe says, with a voice full of hate.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate!" There are a series of explosions in the room. "Force fields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband." She giggles. "Oh, shame on me. Buh-bye, darlings!" She and her bodyguards teleport out.

"Heat levels rising."

"Reset the computer!" The Moxx of Balboon screams.

"Only the Steward would know how," Jabe says.

"No," The Doctor protests. "We can do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, Summer, come on." We leave the room. He calls back to the crowd over my shoulder. "You lot, just chill!"

"Earth Death in 2 minutes. Earth Death in 2 minutes."

* * *

><p>We reach the ventilation chamber with no time to lose. "Oh. And guess where the switch is." He points to the other sides of the enormous fans. "Heat levels, rising. Heat levels, rising." The Doctor pulls a lever down and the fans slow down. "External temperature, 5 thousand degrees." As soon as the Doctor lets go of the lever, the fans start to speed up again. As the Doctor looks hopelessly at the fans, I pull the lever down a second before Jabe and holds it there. The Doctor turns around and grins at me. "Jabe, you better get going." The Doctor says. "The heat's going to vent through this place."<p>

Oh my god. Now I know my purpose in this world. Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat and so many others killed people off.

And now, I can save them.

Jabe runs out of the room. The Doctor grins at me one last time and runs back to the fans. "Heat levels, rising. Heat levels, rising." He dodges the first fan and runs underneath it. He looks anxiously up at the next one. "Heat levels, hazardous." He dodges under the second fan. "Planet explodes in 10... 9..." He ducks under the last fan. "8... 7..."

"Raise shields!" The Doctor pulls the lever down.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." We hear a soft explosion outside when the Earth explodes. And no one saw it.

The Doctor runs back through the now really slow fans. He picks me up and hugs me. "You did it!" I squeal!

"You helped. Come on, Rose need us."

* * *

><p>We walk back into the observation gallery, where all the aliens are sitting around, wounded or dead. Jabe and Rose are waiting for us. "You two all right?" Rose asks.<p>

"Yeah, we're fine. I'm full of ideas, I'm bristling with them. Idea number one, teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." He strides over to the ostrich egg Cassandra left behind. I love this bit! He breaks open the egg and the teleportation feed falls out. He picks it up. "Idea number three, if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed." He twists the feed. Cassandra appears in front of us, apparently in the middle of gloating. "Ah, you should have seen their little alien faces." She notices her new surroundings. "Oh."

"The Last Human," The Doctor mocks.

"So. You passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join the, er... the human club."

"People have died, Cassandra," I say, with anger in my voice. Oh, and god, I am angry! "You murdered them. Countless people just for money. Really, now can you tell me that it was worth it?"

"That depends on what you mean by 'people'. And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court then! And watch me smile, and cry, and flutter..."

"And creak?" The Doctor asks.

"And what?"

"Creak! You're creaking." Cassandra's skin is tightening. Her eyes are becoming bloodshot and she is getting whiter and whiter. "What? Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturise me! Moisturise me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys. It's too hot!" She's now covered in red blotches.

"You raised the temperature," The Doctor says, with no mercy in his voice.

"Have pity!" Cassandra screams, begging for mercy. "Moisturise me! Oh, Doctor!" I'm getting really terrified here. Rose did change him. Nine is nothing like Ten or Eleven. "Help her." I nudge.

"Everything has its time and everything dies." The Doctor says, with hate in his voice. Cassandra is now shrivelling up. "I'm... too... young!" She explodes. The Doctor looks completely cold and not remotely fazed. He leaves the room.

That's it. That blew it. I know he's still grieving the loss of the Time Lords and Gallifrey, but that's out of line. Cassandra was dying, and he didn't show any mercy. That's not the Doctor I know. "Shuttles 4 and 6 departing. This unit now closing down for maintenance."

"Stay here," I tell Rose, Jabe and Jack. I run after the Doctor. He's walking back to the Tardis, doing the walk all Whovians know as the Oncoming Storm walk. "Oi, spaceman!" I scream. "Over here." He turns around. "What do you want, Summer?"

"Why? That's not you." I walk up to the Doctor. "I know you're still grieving, but that was out of line. Why?"

"I had to."

"No, you didn't. It wasn't you!"

"It was!" He pleads and tears start pouring down his face.

"That's the Doctor that kills. That's not my Doctor."

"Then what is?"

"The compassionate Doctor, that took me off the streets at the middle of the night just because. No reason. Just because. That's who you are. You may be the Oncoming Storm, but not a killer." I put my hand on his face. "Leave that for somebody else." He looks into my eyes.

"Okay," He whispers. He dips his head down. And kisses me.

And yeah, it's completely wrong as Ten has always been my Doctor, but it's beautiful. God, he is a great kisser. I mean, figures, he's nine hundred, and married, and has kids, and... I'm ranting, aren't I?

He breaks away for breath and looks into my eyes. "Forever," he whispers.

"Forever," The words come from my mouth without hesistation.

* * *

><p>The Manchester Suite is now completely empty apart from Rose and Jabe, who are standing at the window watching the Earth burn. Guess I missed Jack leave. Rocks fly past the window. They turn around when they hear the Doctor and my footsteps as we come to stand beside her. "The End of the Earth. It's gone. And we were too busy saving ourselves, no one saw it go. All those years... all that history... and no one was even looking."<p>

"My ancestors came from Earth." Jabe explains. "That's why I was so eager to come. And I didn't get to say goodbye." She takes off her sad face and acts more cheery. "Anyway. My shuttle is about to leave, so I better go. I won't forget this. Goodbye, Doctor, Summer, Rose. Hopefully I'll see you again one day." She walks out of the Manchester Suite. Rose isn't really listening to her, just looking through the window. The Doctor notices. "Come with me." He says and takes her hand with the hand that's not holding mine. We walk back to the Tardis in silence. He sets the coordinates for Earth, 2005, and we end up in a London square. Rose looks around at the crowds, seeing them in a new light. We stand beside her.

"You think it'll last forever. People, and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky." We all look up at the sky. After a moment, the Doctor continues. "My planet's gone." Rose turns to look at him. This is the first time he's mentioned his home to Rose. "It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust. Before it's time."

"What happened?" Rose asks.

"There was a war. And we lost."

"A war with who?" He doesn't answer, seemingly lost in his thoughts. "What about your people?"

"I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling because there's no one else." He looks down at Rose. "You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?" Rose looks at him for a few seconds.

"I don't know. I want..." She suddenly sniffs the air. "Oh! Can you smell chips?"

"Yeah!" I laugh.

"I want chips."

"Me too." The Doctor grins.

"Me three."

"Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay."

The Doctor and I pat our pockets. "No money." he says.

"Unless you want Australian."

"What sort of friends are you? Come on then, chips are on me. We've only got five billion years before the shops close..." That's what I need. Chips. So I can think things over.


	5. Chips And Music

**A/N - **this is a fill in chapter, that is the reason why it is so small

* * *

><p><em>▒ v. chips and music<em>

* * *

><p>Why haven't the poms worked out that chips always need chicken salt on them? I'm sitting on a park bench next to Rose eating chips. Weirdest thing ever. "Good chips, these," The Doctor points out.<p>

"Actually, they're not bad." Rose says.

"What are you too talking about, they're rubbish." You wouldn't have believed earlier I got kissed by a 900 year old Time Lord and the Earth exploded. My life is strange.

"They're good!" Rose says in defence of the chips.

"They suck." I say and stop eating them. "I'm going to go and get a Coke and go back to the Tardis. Anyone coming?" They don't reply and I walk off. I buy a Coke with the change Rose gave me when we bought the chips. I get a bottle and go back to the Tardis. The Tardis hums in sympathy when I walk in. "Thanks, sexy." I walk to my room. The bed looks so inviting and I fall on it easily. I drink a few sips of Coke and grab my iPhone. Trees Of Doom is the first app I see and I press it. I sink into the bed, playing Trees Of Doom and drinking Coke. The Tardis hums and I know Rose and the Doctor have come back. "What do I do?" I mutter.

* * *

><p>Dinner was a strange affair. Rose was talking all the time and the Doctor would just say "Yeah," or "Right." I didn't say anything at all. As soon as I finished I left to go back to my room. It was early, but I still fell asleep.<p>

* * *

><p>My head. Hurts. So god damn much. What happened yesterday?<p>

Oh. Rose. The End Of The World. Snogging. The Doctor. The Face of Boe. Jack.

Huh.

What the hell am I going to do? Go to him and say sorry? Snog him senseless? He'll reject me, he always does, friggin time lord. So, I just got up and went to the Tardis console room. That little thought in my head is saying, _Big mistake, he's probably there changing the Tardis. Again. _But did I listen? Noooo, it's just I'm going to go in there and improvise! Not the best plan in the world.

But he wasn't in there.

Huh. Weirdest thing ever.

Instead, Rose was.

She's sitting on the captain's chair, looking as comfortable as ever and she's playing with this retro iPod.

No, not the one Cassandra brought...

It's big and chunky and nothing like the one I've got. My one is a small iPod nano from 2013, the ones that clip onto your clothing and are like a pen but folds out. And she got the one that Apple sells cheaply that they call the iPod classic. Weird.

I'm rambling about iPods. What is the world coming to?

"Hi, Rose," I say and walk over to the chair. "Move over." She moves over and I sit on the chair with her. "What are you listening to?"

"Stronger, by Kanye West."

"Ah, only song from 2005 that I like. Except for Robbie of course. Huge fan."

"Never been a big fan."

"Jeez, you poms, you have the best singers under your roof and you listen to stupid Americans. Seriously, you guys are weird."

"Well, tell me some good music."

"Hold on, iPod." I grab my iPod from my pocket. Rose looks at it in amazement. "Is that an iPod?"

"2013 version of a Nano, yeah. Hold on, let me find some songs."

"Where's your headphones?"

"Don't need them. Of course, the iPod touch ones have better speakers but you always have a dock."

"I didn't understand half the things you just said."

"You will in a few years. Anyway, in the new decade, Usher, Enrique Iglesias and Robbie come back. For a while, anyway. But, by then, most people are listening to LMFAO or Katy Perry. And Glee. Lots of Glee."

"Whats Glee, LMFAO and Katy Perry?"

"LMFAO stands for Laughing My Fucking Ass Off and one of the awesomest party bands ever, Glee is a tv show based on an American showchoir in a high school where they do copies of songs and Katy Perry is just awesome. Not as awesome as Lady GaGa though. Here's Glee." I press Somewhere Only We Know by the Warblers and listen to it. "That's not half bad," Rose says.

"See, it's good, isn't it? Hold on, try Lady Gaga." I put on Born This Way, and Rose loves it. "Come on, Katy Perry or whatever it is now." I put on The One That Got Away and Rose loves it. Again. "So, who's this LMFAO?"

"Only the most bestselling band in 2011 and 2012. Hold on, I'll put on my favourite song by them." I put on Champagne Showers and Rose just looks puzzled. "I don't understand half the things they're saying," Rose says.

"That's this music for you. New computers, new technology, just more interfering with tracks. Kinda annoying, but kinda cool."

"So, you listen to this stuff."

"Not most of the time, only when I need to dance. Most of the time, I listen to Panic! At The Disco. Awesomest band ever."

"Put it on then." I choose Ready To Go and Rose hates it. Figures. No ones got a good sense in music in 2005. Everyone's still listening to Milkshake and stuff like that. Not my cup of tea.

"So this is what you do in your spare time. Collecting music from different decades."

"Best thing about time travel."


	6. The Unquiet Dead

**A/N - **the _italics_ is my POV, and the normal is Summer's POV. This goes for every chapter.

* * *

><p><em>▒ vi. the unquiet dead<em>

* * *

><p><em>Mr Sneed crosses a room where a woman lies dead in her coffin and a man stands over her. The man's name is Redpath. Sneed lights a gas lamp. He walks to the man's side. "Sneed and Company offer their sincerest condolences, sir. In this most trying hour."<em>

"_Grandmamma had a good innings, Mr Sneed. She was so full of life. I can't believe she's gone."_

"_Not gone, Mr Redpath, sir. Merely sleeping." A silence fell over the room as the two men looked at the dead woman._

"_May I have a moment?" Redpath asked._

"_Yes, of course," Sneed replies. "I shall be in the next room, should you require anything." He leaves Redpath alone with his grandmother. Redpath, with his head bowed in grief, does not notice the gas from the gas lamp enter his grandmother's dead body. Nor does he see her eyes snap open. She suddenly grabs Redpath by the neck and strangles him. Mr Sneed bursts back into the room upon hearing the commotions. "Oh, no," He says, as though he's seen this before. The old woman twists her grandson's neck around and he falls to the floor, dead. Sneed tries to wrestle the lid of the coffin back on to trap the crazy dead woman. "Gwyneth!" He calls. "Get down here now! We've got another one!" He is not strong enough to get the lid back on the coffin and the old woman kicks the side off. Sneed falls to the floor, unconscious. This Gwyneth is nowhere to be seen. The woman, known as Mrs Pearce, leaves the house and is seen from the street to have bluish gas-like things around her face. She wails, the most awful wail the people of Cardiff have ever heard._

* * *

><p>Oh, god, it's mayhem in here! The whole ship is shaking and groaning in my head. <em>Make it stop! <em>The Tardis says in my head. An alarm starts to go off. "Hold that one down!" The Doctor tells me.

"I only have two hands!" I can't punch him, he is so lucky! "Well, hold them BOTH down!"

"I can't, as I told you, I ONLY HAVE TWO HANDS! You're hurting the Tardis, she's screaming in my head."

"She'll live, Rose, hold that one down." Rose gets off the captain's chair and stands next to me holding this dumb button down.

"It's not going to work!" Rose and I scream at the same time. We look at each other and laugh. "Oi!" The Doctor says. "Summer, I know you say things like that all the time, but Rose, I'm ashamed of you. I promised you a time machine, and that's what you're getting. Now, you've seen the future, let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?"

"What happened in 1860?" Rose asks.

"I don't know, let's find out. Hold on, here we go!"

* * *

><p><em>In his kitchen, Mr Sneed is dabbing at his forehead. "Gwyneth!" He screams. "Where are you, girl? Gwyneth!" A girl appears, who must be Gwyneth. She has black hair and is wearing a maid's uniform. "Where've you been? I was shouting!"<em>

"_I've been in the stables, sir," She says. "Bringing in the ice for old Sampson."_

"_Well, get back in there and harness him up," Sneed says. Gwyneth looks puzzled. "Whatever for, sir?"_

"_The stiffs are getting lively again. Mr Redpath's grandmother, she's up and on her feet out there somewhere! On the streets! We've got to find her!"_

"_Mr Sneed, for shame! How many more times? It's ungodly!"_

"_Don't look at me like it's _my _fault! Now come on, hurry up! She was 86, she can't have got far."_

"_What about Mr Redpath? Did you deal with him?"_

"_No... she did." Sneed says, not able to look at Gwyneth because of the shame. Gwyneth gasps. "That's awful, sir. I know it's not my place, and please forgive me for talking out of turn, sir, but __this is getting beyond now!" Sneed nods. "Something terrible is happening in this house, and we've got to get help."_

"_And we will! As soon as we get that dead old woman locked up and safe and sound. Now stop prevaricating, girl, get the hearse ready. We're going body snatching!"_

* * *

><p>The controls are steaming and all of us are lying on the floor, laughing. The Doctor is the first to get up. "Blimey!" Rose says.<p>

"You're telling me! Are you both alright?" The Doctor asks.

"Yeah, I think so! Nothing broken..."

"I'm good!" I say. Well, not everywhere, the Doctor still hasn't mentioned 'you know what'. The Doctor studies the screen while we get up. "I did it! Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860!" Well, you think it is!

"That's so weird, it's Christmas!" Rose says. The Doctor gestures towards the door. "All yours!"

"But, it's like... think about it, though. Christmas, 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again. Except for you. You can got back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago... no wonder you never stay still..."

"Not a bad life."

"Better with three." We grin at each other for a few moments. Then Rose runs towards the doors. "Come on then!"

"Oi, oi, oi! Where do you think you're going?" The Doctor asks.

"1860!" Well, duh, Doctor, you were going to get that.

"Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella! There's a wardrobe through there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left. Hurry up!"

"What?"

"Oh, take Summer! She'll need to change too!" I roll my eyes. We run off.

* * *

><p>"So, how long have you been travelling with the Doctor for?" She asks halfway through our journey to the wardrobe. Sounds like a Monty Python movie. "Two months," I say. "Picked me off the streets in the middle of the night."<p>

"Huh. And I thought I lived a bad life." I laugh at that. "At least you've got family. Me, I've got no one. Except you two, now."

"Oh."

"They're all dead, there was an accident, and things happened, and now they're gone."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. It was a long time ago. Five years ago, I've gotten over it."

"I lost my dad. I never knew him."

"That's better, really, having only one person die but you never knew them, then having heaps die and you knew them all your life."

"That sucks!"

"Tell me about it. That's my life."

"Better, now, you've got the Doctor. And me, if you want."

"One, he's been avoiding me, you've seen, and two, okay!"

"Why has he been avoiding you?"

"When I ran after him, he was really emotional and... kissed me."

"What?" The look on Rose's face is golden. "Yeah. I mean, I don't normally see that happening to him, and when I say normally, I mean never. I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But, I've seen the way he looks at you, he loves you."

"Don't think I haven't noticed. Damn, I love him too."

"Express the way you feel!"

"It's complicated."

"In what way?"

"Just complicated."

"Okay..."

* * *

><p>"What about this?" Rose asks, walking out of the dressing room. She's wearing the exact same thing she wore in the show. "Good. Lets go." I'm wearing a red long sleeve shirt with a black skirt. It's extremely hot, I don't know how Victorian women live!<p>

* * *

><p><em>Sneed and Gwyneth are driving through the streets looking for the old woman. "Not a sign," Sneed says, obviously frustrated.<em>

"_She's vanished into the ether sir, where can she be?" Sneed stops the hearse and looks at Gwyneth. "You tell me, girl."_

"_What do you mean?" Gwyneth says, obviously hiding something._

"_Gwyneth, you know full well."_

"_No, sir, I can't." She's pleading but Sneed doesn't back down. "Use the sight!"_

"_It's not right, sir!"_

"_Find the old lady. Or you're dismissed." Gwyneth looks at him, anxiously. She doesn't want to get dismissed, Mr Sneed was the only person to hire him, and she doesn't want to live on the streets, with nothing to eat, no clothes and nowhere to sleep. Sure, Mr Sneed didn't give her much but she heard stories from the women in the village, that sometimes the children they look after scream in the middle of the night and they have to get up. That's not a job for me, Gwyneth always thought. Mr Sneed was a good man. What he gave Gwyneth was enough for Gwyneth. "Now, look inside, girl. Look deep. Where is she?" Gwyneth gives in and closes her eyes. "She's lost, sir. She's so alone. Oh, my lord, forgive me. So many strange things in her head."_

"_But _where_?"_

"_She's excited. About tonight. Before she passed on, she was going to see him."_

"_Who's him?" Sneed asks, wanting to know badly. He didn't want anyone knowing that he caused all this trouble. He wants that lady back in her coffin. "A great man. All the way from London. The great, great man." Gwyneth grins._

* * *

><p><em>Charles Dickens arrived in Cardiff this morning. He had a minor headache, and was feeling ill, but the show must go on. There is a knocking at his door in his dressing room. Dickens is kneading his forehead inside the room. "Mr Dickens!" The man he got to know as Timothy calls. "Mr Dickens! Excuse me, sir, Mr Dickens, this is your call." Dickens does not respond. The stage manager comes into the room. "Are you quite well, sir?'<em>

"_Splendid, splendid, sorry." Timothy loves hearing his voice. His wife, Agnes, had always loved his stories. She begged him to get an autograph when he left for work this morning. A Christmas present, she said. He chuckled silently at that. "Time you were on, sir."_

"_Absolutely, I was just... brooding. Christmas Eve. Not the best of times to be alone."_

"_Did no one travel with you, sir. An old lady wife waiting out front?"_

"_I'm afraid not." Timothy laughs. "You can have mine if you want."_

"_Oh, I wouldn't dare, I've been rather, let's say, clumsy with family matter. By God, I'm too old to cause any more trouble."_

"_You speak as though it's all over, sir!"_

"_Oh, no, it's never over. On and on I go. The same old show." They both look at the poster announcing his show. "I'm like a ghost, condemned to repeat myself..." He stands. "...for all eternity."_

"_It's never too late, sir. You could always think up some new turns." Timothy would actually rather him not. More gossip from the wife. "No, I can't. Even my imagination grows stale. I'm an old man. Perhaps I've thought everything I'll ever think. Still! The lure of the lime-light! As potent as a pipe what, eh?" Timothy grabs his jacket and help the great man himself put on his jacket. "On with the show."_

* * *

><p>Back in the console room, the Doctor is doing some more unnecessary repair work. Rose and I swan in and he turns off the sonic. "Aren't you going to change, Doctor?" Rose asks. No compliments, then.<p>

"I've changed my jumper! Come on!" He jumps out of the space beneath the controls. "You, stay there!" Rose says as he heads for the door. "You've done this before, both of you. This is mine!" She hurries towards the door and opens it. She looks out onto the 1860 street before cautiously walking out. The Doctor and I follow her. "Ready for this?" I ask. She smiles as reassurance and holds out both of her arms to each of us. We link arms. "Here we go!" The Doctor says. "History!"

* * *

><p><em>Sneed and Gwyneth arrive outside the theatre. "She's in there, sir," Gwyneth tells her master, "I'm certain of it." They alight from the hearse.<em>

* * *

><p>The Doctor is buying a newspaper. He unfolds it and scans it. "I got the flight a bit wrong," He tells us.<p>

"I don't care," Rose replies.

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"I don't care."

"And it's not Naples."

"I don't care!"

"It's Cardiff." Rose suddenly stops walking. "Right..."

"What's wrong with Cardiff?" I ask her. "Is it like New Zealand for the Aussies?"

* * *

><p><em>Dickens is in the theatre, talking to a rapt audience. "Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing particular about the knocker on the door of this house. But let any man explain to me if he can, how it happened, that Scrooge, having his lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without it's undergoing any intermediate process of change, not a knocker- but Marley's face!" The whole audience gasped. "Marley's face! It looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look. It looked like..." The gas started to escape from the old woman. Dickens, seeing as how he is the only one facing the audience, is the only one to notice. "Oh my lord! It looked, like that!" He points a trembling finger at the old woman. "What in phantasmagoria is this?" The woman has risen in her seat. She lets out a long, loud wail. The audience scream and trample each other in their hurry to get away.<em>

* * *

><p>Suddenly we hear screaming. The Doctor grins maniacally. "That's more like it!" He tosses the newspaper over his shoulder and runs in the direction of the screaming. Rose and I just laugh at him before running after him.<p>

* * *

><p>The occupants of the theatre are running away as we try and enter. We finally get inside the theatre and watch the gas zoom around. "Fantastic!" The Doctor says. The last of the gas leaves the old woman's mouth and she slumps back in the chair, just a dead body once more. The Doctor and I approach Dickens. Oh, my, god... "Did you see where it came from?" He asks.<p>

"Ah. The wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!" The Doctor looks slightly taken back.

"Oi! Leave her alone!" Rose screams and heads for the dude that I can't remember his name, and the ancestor of Gwen! Awesomeness! "Doctor, I'll get them!" Oh, yeah, at the moment they're bad guys and Rose is going to be taken by them. Bummer. "Be careful!" The Doctor screams. We jump up onto the stage. Well, really he jumps up, I just sit on the edge of the stage and pull myself up. "Did it say anything? Could it speak? I'm the Doctor, and this is Summer by the way."

"Doctor? You look more like a navy!"

"What's _wrong_ with this jumper?"

* * *

><p><em>Gwyneth and Sneed have successfully loaded the body into the back of the hearse before Rose catches up with them. "What're you doing?" She asks.<em>

"_Oh, it's such a tragedy, miss. Don't worry yourself, me and the master will deal with it. The fact is, this poor lady's been taken with the brain fever and we have to get her to the infirmary." Rose pushes Gwyneth aside and feels the old woman's forehead. "She's cold... she's dead! My God, what did you do to her?" Sneed approaches her silently from behind and clamps a tissue full of a drug to her mouth. She struggles for a few seconds, and then goes limp. "What did you do that for?" Gwyneth asks, completely shocked._

"_She's seen too much. Get her in the hearse!" Gwyneth bends down and picks up Rose's legs while Sneed holds her head._

* * *

><p>The gas dives into one of the gas lamps and disappears. "Gas!" The Doctor says. "It's made of gas!"<p>

"Took you a long time to figure that out!" I say. I pull on his jacket. "C'mon!"

* * *

><p>By the time the Doctor and I come down the steps of the theatre, Gwyneth has just finished pushing Rose's head out of sight into the hearse. She slams the door shut. "Rose!" The Doctor screams. We run towards the hearse with Dickens following us. And yes, I've forgotten his first name. Drink to that. "You're not escaping me, sir! What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm?" The hearse drives away. "Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"<p>

"Yeah, mate, not now, thanks." The Doctor spots a coach and runs towards it, shouting to the driver. We jump in. "Oi, you, follow that hearse!"

"You can't do that sir!"

"Why not?"

"Why not? I'll give you a very good reason why not! This is my coach!"

"Well, get in then!" He pulls Dickens in and I get squished to one side of the coach. "Move!" He says to the driver. The coach rumbles off. "Everything in order, Mr. Dickens?" The driver asks.

"No! It is not!"

"What did he say?" God, it's taken him a long time to realise who it is.

"Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour-"

"Dickens?"

"Yes."

"_The_ Charles Dickens?"

"Shall I remove them, sir?" The driver asks.

"Charles Dickens! You're brilliant, you are! Completely one hundred percent brilliant! I've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"

"A Christmas Carol?" Yeah, think he'd remember that...

"No, no, no, the one with the trains... The Signal Man, that's it, terrifying!" Dickens looks pleased. "The best short story ever written! You're a genius!"

"You want me of them, sir?"

"Er, no, I think he can stay."

"Honestly, Charles, can I call you Charles? I'm such a big fan." Oops. Love this bit. "...what? A what?"

"Sorry, sir," I say, putting an accent on, "The master is a bit drunk today, he was drinking at midday." Hope I didn't sound like an idiot. The Doctor just ignores me and says, "Fan! Number one fan! That's me!"

"How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?"

"No, it means 'Fanatic', devoted to. Mind you, I've gotta say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what was that about? Was that just paddling or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit." Dickens turns away and looks at the window. "I thought you said you were my fan."

"Ah well, if you can't take criticism, go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up." What? Weirdo Doctor coming on... "No, sorry, come on, faster!"

* * *

><p><em>Gwyneth and Sneed have one end each of Rose. "The poor girl's still alive, sir!" Gwyneth exclaims. "What're we going to do with her?" They settle her down on a table that is evidently used for dead bodies. "I don't know! I didn't plan any of this, did I? Isn't my fault if the dead won't stay dead."<em>

"_Then whose fault is it, sir? Why is this happening to us?" They leave the room, shutting and locking Rose in. Unnoticed to both of them, the gas lamp flickers. "I did the Bishop a favour," Sneed says. "Once. Made his nephew look like a cherub. Even though he'd been a fortnight in the weir. Perhaps he'll do us an exorcism on the cheap." There is a knock on the door. They both look up, alarmed. "Say I'm not in. Tell them we're closed. Just- just get rid of them!"_

* * *

><p><em>In the other room, Rose wakes up. She looks slightly out of sorts, and does not notice when the gas from the lamps fills the corpse of Redpath. He sits up suddenly.<em>

* * *

><p>Dickens knocks on the door and the ancestor of Gwen opens it. "I'm sorry, sir, we're closed."<p>

"Nonsense!" Dickens screams. "Since when did an undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master!"

"He's not in, sir." She makes to shut the door, but Dickens forces it open again. "Don't lie to me, child!"

"I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Dickens, but the master's indisposed!" Behind her, a gas lamp flares up. "Having trouble with your gas?" The Doctor asks.

"What the Shakespeare is going on?"

* * *

><p><em>Rose suddenly notices the corpse behind her. She jumps in alarm as he starts making zombie noise at her. "Are you all right? You're kidding me, yeah? You're just kidding." He climbs out of the coffin. "You are, you're kidding me, aren't ya?" He takes staggering steps towards her. "Okay, not kidding." She runs to the door and tries to open it.<em>

* * *

><p>The Doctor forces his way in and presses his ear to the wall. "You're not allowed inside, sir!"<p>

"There's something inside the walls. The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas!"

* * *

><p><em>Rose backs against the door. The old woman's body rises from the other coffin and Rose gasps. She lobs a vase at Redpath. It does nothing but cause him to stumble slightly. Rose rattles the handle frantically. "Let me out! Open the door!"<em>

* * *

><p>We hear screaming that's sounds like Rose. "That's her." The Doctor and I say at the same time. We run off, following the screams. We charge past the old man. "This is my house!" He screams.<p>

"Let me out! Somebody, open the door! Open the door!" We hear the muffled screams and the Doctor finds a door and kicks it in. "Let her go." He says and he releases Rose from Redpath's grip.

"It's a prank? It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence!" Dickens says.

"No, we're not." I say. "Look. The dead are walking. Hi, Rose!"

"Hi! Who's your friend?"

"Charles Dickens!" I say.

"Oh. Okay."

"My name's the Doctor," The Doctor says to the dead people. "Who are you, then? What do you want?"

"We're failing. Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form, cannot sustain. Help us!" Both corpses raise their heads to the ceiling. The blue gas leaves them with a wailing sound and both corpses fall to the floor.

Gwyneth is making drinks while Rose is having a go at Sneed. "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man!" I snigger at this. "I won't be spoken to like this!" Sneed says.

"Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies!" Rose continues, ignoring Sneed. "And if that ain't enough, you swan off! And leave me to die! So come on, talk!"

"It's not my fault, it's this house! It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs... the, er, dear departed started getting restless."

"Tommyrot!" Dickens says. I look over at him from my comfy armchair. "You witnessed it!" Sneed says. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk, and it's the queerest thing that they hand on to scraps..." I zone out of the conversation as Gwyneth comes towards me. She hands me my tea. "Hot Chocolate, just the way you like it, maam." So she is psychic. Huh.

"One old fella who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service! Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir. Just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy," Dickens says, denying everything.

"Oh, Charles, you were there," The Doctor says, exasperation in his voice.

"I saw nothing but an illusion."

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up!" Dickens is stunned. The Doctor turns to Sneed. "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir, never seen anything like that."

"Mean it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" Rose asks.

"A weak point in time and space." I explain. "The connection between this place and another. It's still in Cardiff in your time. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time." The Doctor looks at me, puzzled. I think I might just shut up now...

"That's how I got the house so cheap," Sneed says, with revelation. "Stories going back generations. Echoes in the dark. Queer songs in the air and this feeling like a... shadow. Passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine!" I laugh at that.

* * *

><p><em>Dickens, wandering the corridors alone, examines the gas lamps. "Impossible!" He walks into the room where Rose was locked up and takes the lid off Redpath's coffin, where Redpath is lying peacefully, his arms crossed across his chest. He waves his hands in front of his face, shakes him a bit, and fumbles around underneath the coffin, all the time oblivious to the Doctor watching him with his arms folded in the doorway. "Checking for strings?" The Doctor asks. Dickens jumps in fright. "Wires, perhaps? There must be some mechanism behind this fraud." The Doctor unfolds his arms and walks over to Dickens. "Oh, come on, Charles. All right. I shouldn't have told you to shut up." He places a hand on Dickens shoulder. "I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures!"<em>

"_I cannot accept that." Dickens says. Even though he wants to believe it, he doesn't want people knowing that he doesn't know everything. Not exactly good for business. "And what does the human body do when it decomposes?" The Doctor asks him. "It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things, they can slip inside and use it as a vehicle. Just like your driver and his coach."_

"_Stop it! Can it be, that I have the world entirely wrong?"_

"_Not wrong. There's just more to learn."_

"_I've always railed against the fantasies. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them, that's what they were. Illusions! The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices. Great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack o' lanterns, in which case, have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?"_

* * *

><p>Gwyneth is lighting another gas lamp when I come in and start washing up. "Please miss!" Gwyneth protests. "You shouldn't be helping! It's not right!"<p>

"Don't be daft. Sneed works you to death. Except don't except it to be good washing, Mum always made me do it millions of times because there was always a few stains left. How much do you get paid?"

"Eight pound a year miss."

"Wow!" I say, playing along as if I come from Victorian London. "That much? That's a lot!"

"I know. I would've been happy with six!"

"Did Sneed send you to school?" I don't know why I'm asking these questions. It's not like I don't know the answers. "Of course he did. What do you think I am? An urchin? I went every Sunday. Nice and proper."

"What, once a week?" I say, the question just popping out.

"We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second."

"Me too!" We both laugh. "Don't tell anyone," Gwyneth says, whispering and talking like what she did is outrageous. "But one week, I didn't go and ran to the heath on my own!"

"I did plenty of that. I used to go down to the shops with my mate Leona. And we used to go and look at boys!" Gwyneth stops laughing at once and looks scandalised. "Well, I don't know much about that, miss." She turns back to the washing up.

"Come on! I do come from Australia, but things aren't that different! I bet you've done the same."

"I don't think so miss."

"Gwyneth! You can tell me! Bet you've got your eye on someone."

"I suppose, there is one lad... the butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him!"

"Oh, I like a nice smile. There was one guy who would charm all the girls with his smile." Again, Gwyneth looks shocked. "Well, I have never heard the like!" I just laugh, then Gwyneth laughs too. "Ask him out!" I say. "Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start."

"I swear, it's the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding but you talk like some sort of wild thing!" I shrug at that. "I have been for a long time. Bad influences and stuff. But, you need a bit more in your life than Mr. Sneed."

"Ah, now that's not fair. He's not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to me to take me in. because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Thank you, miss. But I'll be with them again. One day. Sitting with them in paradise. I should be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your family's up there waiting for you too, miss."

"Maybe." I nod, then realise. How did she know that. "Um, how did you find out they were dead?" Gwyneth realises what she has said and turns quickly back to the washing up. "I don't know, must've been the Doctor."

"I didn't tell him, only Rose..."

"You've been thinking about them lately, more than ever."

"I suppose so... how do you know all this?"

"Mr Sneed says I think too much," She says, pointing to her forehead. "I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you miss?"

"No, no servants where I'm from."

"And you've come such a long way."

"Yeah, all the way from good old Sydney..."

"I've seen Sydney in drawings, but never like that." She stares at me intently. "All those people rushing about. Half naked, such strange clothing, for shame. And the noise... and the metal boxes racing past... and the birds in the sky... they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People flying. And the boats! And the trains, they're grey and so _full_ of people. And you, you've travelled so far, further than anyone! The things you've seen... the darkness... the fictionfire... the never ending life-" She suddenly staggers backwards, afraid. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, miss!"

"It's alright..." How did she know about the fictionfire?

"I can't help it. Ever since I was a little girl. My mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it!"

"But it's getting stronger, more powerful, is that right?" Gwyneth and I both jump as we turn to see the Doctor standing in the doorway. "All the time, sir. Every night. Voices in my head."

"You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it. You're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table wrappers, all sorts."

"Well, that should help. You can show us what to do."

"What to do where, sir?"

"We're going to have a séance." Oh, no...

* * *

><p>This is a bad idea. A bad, bad, bad idea. Why are we doing this? "This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists," Gwyneth explains. "Come. We must join hands."<p>

"I can't take part in this," Dickens says and stands up from his chair.

"Humbug? Come on, open mind."

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to un-mask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing?"

"Now, don't antagonise her. I love a happy medium."

"I can't believe you just said that," I mumble. He grins at me. "Come on, we might need you." Dickens sits down. "Good man. Now, Gwyneth. Reach out."

"Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits? Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden." She raises her eyes to the ceiling. A murmuring fills the room. "Can you hear that?" Rose asks the room.

"Nothing can happen!" Dickens says. "This is sheer folly!"

"Look at her!" I say.

"I feel them. I feel them!" The gas creatures begin to fill the room. "What're they saying?" Rose asks.

"They can't get through the rift," The Doctor says. "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't!"

"Yes you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth." Gwyneth looks almost pained. Then suddenly, she lowers her head and opens her eyes. "Yes." Three gaseous figures appear behind her. Dickens' mouth drops open. "Great God!" Sneed says. "Spirits from the other side!"

"The other side of the universe."

"Pity us." The Gelth and Gwyneth say. "Pity the Gelth. There is so little time, help us."

"What do you want to do?"

"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge."

"What for?"

"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction."

"Why, what happened?"

"Once we had a physical form like you. But then the war came."

"War?" Dickens asks. "What war?"

"The Time War." Rose and I look at the Doctor but he looks away. "The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in the gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses." The Doctor says.

"We want to stand tall. To feel the sunlight. To live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us!"

"But we can't!" Rose says.

"Why not?" The Doctor asks.

"It's not... I mean, it's not..."

"Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives."

"But it could be a trap?" We stare at each other for a moment.

"Open the rift," The Gelth and Gwyneth butt in. "Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!" They disappear and Gwyneth collapses forwards onto the table. Rose and I get up immediately and go to her. "Gwyneth!" I scream.

"All true." Dickens says. "It's all true." The Doctor remains silent.

I'm mopping Gwyneth's forehead as she lies asleep on a lounge. Slowly, her eyes open and she fidgets. "It's alright," I say, "Don't try to get up, just rest for a while.

"But my angels, miss. They came, didn't they? They need me?"

"They do need you, Gwyneth. You're they're only chance of survival." I turn around to see the Doctor just behind me, leaning against the wall.

"I've told you," Rose says, "Leave her alone." They've been at this for a while. Sometimes I help Rose fight him, but I know it's not going to be any use. "She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles." The Doctor leans back and sighs. I pick up a glass of water from a bench nearby. "Drink this," I tell Gwyneth, who takes it and sips some of it.

"Well, what did you say, Doctor?" Sneed says. "Explain it again. What are they?"

"Aliens," he replies matter-of-factly.

"Like... foreigners, you mean?"

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there." He points skywards. "Brecon?" Sneed asks.

"Close. They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl," Dickens says, speaking for the first time in a hour.

"They're not having her!" Rose defends.

"But she can help. Living on the rift, she's become part of it, she can open it up, make a bridge, and let them through."

"Incredible!" Dickens says, getting up from his armchair. "Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers."

"Good system. It might work." The Doctor says. That's done it for Rose. She gets up from sitting on the floor and walks over to the Doctor. "You can't let them run around inside dead people!"

"Why not? It's like recycling."

"Seriously though, you can't."

"Seriously though, I can!"

"It's just... wrong! Those bodies were living people! We should respect them even in death!"

"Do you carry a donor card?"

"That's different, that's-"

"It is different, yeah. It's different morality. Get used to it or go home." Rose falls silent and the Doc sees that he's gone to far. "You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."

"I don't care, they're not using her."

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth says. Both Rose and the Doctor turn around to look at her. "Look," Rose starts. "You don't understand what's going on."

"You would say that miss. Because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid."

"That's not fair!"

"It's true, though. Things might be very different where you're from. But here and now, I know my own mind. And the angels need me." She turns away from Rose and looks directly at the Doctor. "Doctor, what do I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything."

"Please, don't Gwyneth." I say. I saved Jabe, so I can save her. She just ignores me and goes on. "They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So tell me." The Doctor smiles at her. "We need to find the rift." He turns around and walks towards Sneed. "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

"That would be the morgue."

"No chance you were gonna say 'gazebo', was there?" Rose says. We all turn heads towards her.

This is a bad idea.

* * *

><p>The key turns in the morgue door, and we all walk in, lead by the Doctor. "Talk about Bleak House," he says. I never get what he says.<p>

"The thing is Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed. 'Cause I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869." Rose says, standing near the Doctor.

"Time's in flux. It's changing every second. Your cozy little world could be rewritten like that." He clicks his fingers. "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing." Nice.

"Doctor," Dickens says. "I think the room is getting colder."

"Here they come," I say. "Get ready." The Gelth flood into the room. Their leader positions itself in an archway. It has the voice of a child. That will soon change. "You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!"

"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose says.

"Like that will work," I say under my breath so no one will hear me. "Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth."

"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer," The Doctor says. "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solutions, alright?"

"My angels. I can help them live," Oh, Gwyneth, they don't care about you!

"Okay, where's the weak point?"

"Here, beneath the arch." Gwyneth positions herself beneath the arch. "Beneath the arch," she echoes. I rush to her. "Please don't do this." I say. She places her hands on my cheeks. They've already gone cold. "My angels." Suddenly, she stands back and I stagger backwards. "Establish the bridge," The Gelth say, "Reach out of the void, let us through!"

"Yes! I can see you! I can see you! Come!"

"Bridgehead establishing."

"Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

"It is begun! The bridge is made!" Gwyneth's mouth opens and the Gelth pour out of it. "She has given herself to the Gelth!"

"There's rather a lot of them, eh?" Dickens says.

"Too much..." I add. The Doctor just glares at me. "The bridge is open. We descend!" The figure of the Gelth become red and demonic. "The Gelth will come through in force!" The air becomes colder.

"You said you were _few_ in number!" Dickens says.

"A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses." The bodies in the morgue rise, all sinister looking.

"Gwyneth... stop this!" Sneed says. "Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, leave these things alone! I beg of you-"

"Mr Sneed! Get back!" A corpse grabs Sneed from behind and holds him still while another of the Gelth fills his body through his mouth. The Doctor and Rose leap back from where they are standing. Sneed looks at us through blank, dead eyes. "I think it's gone a little bit wrong." The Doctor says.

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come. March with us."

"No!" Dickens screams and runs for the door. The corpses advance on the Doctor, Rose and I. "We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead." They are backing us against a dungeon door. "Gwyneth!" The Doctor screams "Stop them! Send them back, now!"

"Four more bodies. Make them vessels for the Gelth."

"I- I can't!" Dickens screams from across the room. "I'm sorry!" The Doctor opens the door behind us and pushes us into the small room and slams the door shut again. "It's too much for me! I'm so-" He can't finish his sentence and runs from the morgue as one of the Gelth swoops at him. The corpses are clambering to get into the room we're in. "Give yourself to glory! Sacrifice your lifes for the Gelth!"

"I trusted you. I pitied you!"

"We don't want your pity! We want this world and all its flesh."

"Not while I'm alive."

"Then live no more."

* * *

><p><em>Dickens has run from the morgue and rests panting against the front door of the house. The gaseous creatures swirl around the knocker, making it look exactly like the knocker from his story, A Christmas Carol and he runs again.<em>

* * *

><p>"But I can't die!" Rose's words bring me back to Earth. She looks at the Doctor for reassurance. "Tell me I can't! I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die! Isn't it?"<p>

"I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><em>Dickens has run from the house altogether. One of the Gelth has followed him. "Failing!" It screams and stops abruptly. "Atmosphere hostile!" The figure dives into a gas lamp. Dickens realises his mistake. "Gas!"<em>

* * *

><p>"But it's 1869, how can I die now?"<p>

"Time isn't a straight line, it can twist into any shape. You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault. I brought you here. Summer also."

"It's not your fault. I wanted to come." Touche.

"What about me? I saw the fall of Troy! World War Five! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, now I'm going to die in a dungeon! In Cardiff!"

"It's not just dying. We'll become one of them."

"Why have you given up?" I ask. "We're not going to die!"

* * *

><p><em>Dickens rushes back into the house and begins to turn all the flames off the gas lamps, so that the gas is released into the air. Wheezing slightly, he covers his nose and mouth with a handkerchief.<em>

* * *

><p>"Sure, this looks bad, but don't give up. I reckon someone will save us."<p>

"Yeah." I turn to the Doctor. "You believe me?"

"Yeah!" He grabs my hand. "I'm so glad I met you." I look up at him, surprised. "Me too." He smiles at me. At that moment, Dickens rushes into the room. "Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas!" He turns one on. "Now fill the room, all of it, now!"

"What're you doing?"

"Turn it all on! Gas the place!" He turns another on. "Brilliant. Gas!"

"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose asks.

"Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous!"

"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!"

"See, we're not going to die," I say. The corpses all decide to turn on Dickens instead. "Well, he might."

"I hope... oh Lord. I hope that this theory will be validated." The corpses advance dangerously on him. "If not immediately."

"Plenty more!" The Doctor screams. He smashes a gas canister against the wall and all the creatures are sucked from the bodies with a scream. "It's working." Dickens says, in relief. The Doctor, Rose and I are free to come out of the dungeon. "Gwyneth!" The Doctor says. "Send them back! They lied, they're not angels."

"Liars." Gwyneth says simply.

"Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"

"Can't breathe," Rose chokes.

"Charles, get Rose and Summer out." For some reason, I'm not choking. Weird. Dickens grabs Rose's arm but she shakes him off. "I'm not leaving her."

"We have to leave or you will suffocate," I say.

"They're too strong." Gwyneth tells us.

"Remember that world you saw? Summer's world? All of those people, none of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift."

"I can't send them back," She replies firmly. "But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out." Her hand goes to her apron pocket and she takes out a box of matches. Dickens runs out but Rose rushes forwards. "You can't!"

"Leave this place!" Gwyneth calls. The Doctor grabs my shoulders. "Summer, take Rose and get out, go now." I nod. He turns to Rose. "I won't leave her while she's still in danger, now go!" We run out of the morgue. Dickens is at the door. "This way!" We run through the house and run outside. I run further away from Dickens and Rose, as I know what will happen. The whole house goes up in flames, just as the Doctor dives out of the doorway. Rose fixes him with a look that plainly asks why Gwyneth is not with him. "She didn't make it."

"I'm sorry. She closed the rift."

"At such a cost," Dickens says. "The poor child." Rose has not looked away from the Doctor. "I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes."

"What do you mean?" Rose asks.

"I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch."

"But, she can't have, she spoke to us, she helped us, she saved us. How could she have done that?"

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Dickens says. We all turn to him. "Even for you, Doctor."

"She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know."

* * *

><p>We have all arrived back at the Tardis. "Right then, Charlie-boy, I've just got to go into my um... shed. Won't be long!" He fits the key into the lock. "What're you going to do now?" Rose asks Dickens.<p>

"I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more viral."

"You've cheered up!" The Doctor says.

"Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I'm inspired. I must write about them!"

"Do you think that's wise?" Rose asks.

"I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!"

"Good idea!" I say.

"Good luck with it." The Doctor adds. "Nice to meet you." He shakes Dickens hand. "Fantastic." He turns back to the Tardis door.

"Bye then, and thanks," Rose says. She kisses him on the cheek. Dickens looks taken-aback. "Oh, my dear, how modern. Thank you, but, I don't understand, in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"

"You'll see. In the shed." He opens the door of the Tardis. "Oh, my soul. Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this, who are you?"

"Just a friend. Passing through."

"But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?"

"Oh, yes!"

"For how long?"

"Forever!" Dickens tries to look pleased and modest at the same time. "Right. Shed. Come on, Summer, Rose..." We all turn to the door. "In- in the box?" Dickens asks. "All three of you?"

"Down boy. See ya!" We enter the Tardis and the Doctor shuts the door after us. "Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?" Rose asks.

"In a weeks time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies. Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story." We all look at the screen where they can see Dickens is still standing outside. "Oh, no! He was so nice!"

"But in our time, he was already dead!" I say. "No one from our time never saw Dickens because he was already dead! But we get to bring him back. That's the brilliance of time travel." The Doctor hits a button and the engines rev up. We smile as we watch Dickens' face when the Tardis disappears before his eyes.


	7. Waiting For You, But Life Is Life

**A/N - **also a small fill in chapter

* * *

><p><em>▒ vii. waiting for you, but life is life<em>

* * *

><p>I sat on the captain's chair while I waited for Rose to clear out. I caught her eye and she got the message. "I'll leave you too alone," she said and left the room. As soon as she left, I looked at the Doctor. "You've got some explaining to do."<p>

"Do I?"

"Stop playing stupid."

"Right."

"Explain."

"Summer, um, that kiss was a mistake."

"Really."

"Yeah."

"Huh. Guess that's the reason why you said forever afterwards."

"Guess you can't give that to me."

"Guess you're wrong."

"Guess I'm right!"

"Stop it. You love me and you're afraid to admit it."

"I can't love you."

"Why?"

"You're not time lord."

"Huh. Well, that explains everything." I get over and move over to him. "One day, you're going to realise what you were missing. Maybe I will still be waiting. Don't be unhappy if I'm not." At that point I go out of the console room and straight to my room. The purple and red paints on the wall comfort me as I lay on the four poster bed. "What do I do now?" I ask myself.

* * *

><p>"London, 2005," The Doctor says as he runs around the console flicking switches. "How's that sound?"<p> 


	8. Aliens In London

**A/N - **this chapter is a rewrite of Aliens In London

* * *

><p><em>▒ vii. aliens in london<em>

* * *

><p>The Tardis materialises, and we step out. The Doctor leans against the door and folds his arms. "How long have I been gone?" Rose asks.<p>

"About 12 hours." Yeah, you think so. They laugh while I stay silent. Can't I stop this or something? "Oooh, right, I won't be long, I'm just gonna see my mum."

"What're you going to tell her?" The Doctor asks.

"I don't know! I've been to the year five billion, and only been gone, what, 12 hours? No, I'll just tell her I've spent the night at Shareen's. See you later!" She walks off, only to turn back to us. "Oh, don't you two disappear." The Doctor gives her a look to say 'as if I would' and she runs off in the direction of the flats. We settle ourselves against the Tardis to wait for her. Please, get the date right, Doctor.

The Doctor wanders around with his arms folded and kicks an empty bottle across the yard. He spots a poster taped to a lamppost, he walks over to it and reads it. Great, he did get the date wrong. What are we going to do now? The Doctor gets the gist of the poster and runs to the flats. I run after him.

How can Rose cope with these stairs?

We get to Rose's floor and come crashing into her apartment. "It's not 12 hours," The Doctor explains to Rose who's being held in Jackie's arms. "It's 12 months. You've been gone a whole year. Sorry." Nitwit.

* * *

><p>"The hours I've sat here. Days and weeks and months all on my own. I thought you were dead. And where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean? Travelling? That's no sort of answer." Rose and I are sitting in an armchair while Jackie is giving Rose all she's got. A policeman is sitting in the other armchair. Jackie turns to him. "You ask her. She won't tell me! That's all she says. Travelling."<p>

"That's what I was doing."

"When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone, I really did, I just.. forgot."

"What, for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here? I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?"

"Actually, it's my fault," The Doc says. Oh, just shut up! "I sort of er, employed Rose as my companion."

"When you say 'companion," the policeman starts, "is this a sexual relationship between the three of you?"

"No!" All three of us scream at the same time. "I don't do threesomes..." I mutter. Jackie advances dangerously on the Doc. "Then what is it? Because you, you two waltz in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes of the face of the earth! How old are you then? 40? 45? How old is she?" She gestures towards me. "What, you found both of them on the internet? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I _am_ a doctor!"

"Prove it! Stitch this mate!" She slaps him hard around the face. Awesomeness! Just what he needed at the moment.

* * *

><p>Rose is sitting on a wall on the roof and the Doctor is leaning against it. I'm sitting at their feet. "I can't tell her. I can't even <em>begin<em>... she's never gonna forgive me. And I missed a year? Was it good?"

"Middling." The Doc answers.

"You're so useless."

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you gonna stay here now?"

"I dunno. I can't do that to her again, though."

"Well, she's not coming with us." We all laugh. "No chance."

"I don't do families."

"She slapped you!" I say. _And you deserved it,_ I think.

"900 years of time and space and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."

"Your face." Rose says.

"It hurt!"

"You're so gay!"

"Didn't know you were homophobic," I mutter but Rose hears me. "Sorry, I didn't mean it in that way."

"Don't worry. I'm really touchy 'bout that stuff. I'm bisexual, you see." Female Jack Harkness. Heh.

"Oh, okay..." The Doc rubs his cheek, offended. "When you say 900 years..."

"That's my age," The Doc says.

"You're nine hundred years old."

"Yeah."

"My mum was right, that is one hell of an age gap." She jumps off the wall. "Every conversation with you two just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and I'm the only person on planet earth who knows they exist." Right on cue, a spaceship narrowly misses our heads as it fall from the sky and crashes into the Big Ben in the distance. It then splashes in the Thames. We stand up with our mouths open. "Oh, that's just no fair." I laugh gleefully and run down the stairs from the roof. This is fantastic!

* * *

><p>It is complete mayhem on the streets, bigger than Davies described in the show. We arrive on one street, to see that the rest of London is blocked off. "We're miles from the centre," Rose says. "The scene must be grid locked. The whole of London must be closing down."<p>

"Wow! Just wow!" I say.

"I know, I can't _believe_ I'm here to see this! This is fantastic!"

"Did you two know this was going to happen?"

"Nope!" Well, you didn't.

"Do you recognise the ship?"

"Nope!" I do!

"Do you know why it crashed?"

"Nope!" Yes.

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you two."

"I bet you are! This is why we travel, Rose! To see history happening right in front of us."

"Well, let's go and see it! Never mind the traffic, we've got the Tardis."

"Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London, don't want to shove another one on top."

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice."

"You'll be surprised, an emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me, the Tardis stays where it is." Rose looks distinctly disgruntled. "So history's happening and we're stuck here."

"Yes we are."

"We could always do what everybody else does." The Doctor looks at her questioningly. "We could watch it on TV?"

"Great," I say, sarcastically.

* * *

><p><em>Torchwood Three was quiet today. Jack and Rose were nowhere to be seen and the only people sitting at their desks (as they should be) were Ianto, Suzie and the team's captain, Summer. Her ginger hair blew in the breeze that came from the fans above. The dinosaur flew over their heads and all three of them ducked as it went very close to their heads.<em>

_It was strange for Torchwood to be lying low on the day of an alien invasion. The only person who had left the establishment all day was Dr. Toshiko Sato, who was asked, by U.N.I.T, to look at the alien that crashed in it's spaceship. She was still out. Rose and Summer already knew who was with her._

_Just another reason to stay in Torchwood._

_Summer turned on her computer and logged in. She had what she called Technology OCD, she kept everything on her laptop tidy and clean. She battered away a single tear she got from looking at her desktop background, a picture of her last incarnation and the Doctor (10th) in a goofy pose. They took the picture on Apalapucia, when Rose and Jack had left the Tardis for a while and they wanted some time to themselves. She had opted to leave the Tardis and make Torchwood Three after the Doctor turned back to human. It really shattered some of their relationship, but he was still coming back._

_She had waited almost a hundred years now. Amelia Pond wasn't the girl who waited. Summer Watts was._

_Summer had been ordered to come to the meeting where the Doctor (9th) would be. She had to accept, it was an order, not an invitation. She already knew she would be there._

_Stupid knowing about your future._

* * *

><p>"Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control wide-spread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson at the scene." The screen goes to another man. "The police urge the public not to panic. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family." The Doctor changes the channel over to an American news channel. "The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American air space have been ground." He switches it back to the BBC News channel. "The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find." Back to the American channel. "The President will address the nation live from the White House. But the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies."<p>

Jackie comes in and gives Rose a cup of tea. "I've got no choice! Either I make those two welcome, or I run the risk of never seeing you again!" Both Jackie and her friend, Marianna, babble on angrily. "Oi! I'm trying to listen!" The Doc says.

"...his current whereabouts. News is just coming in, we can go to Tom at the embankments."

"They've found a body. It's unconfirmed, but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore." Jackie comes in and hands me a wine glass and pours some wine into it. I'm underage, but, what the hell! I drink it anyway. I've had alcohol already, but I don't drink it much. "Oh, guess who asked me out. Billy Crewe."

"Unconfirmed reports say that the body _is_ of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary. The whereabouts is yet unknown." I take a sip of my wine and the TV change channels a few times and comes to rest on some weird show. "And when you've stuck your things on, you can cover the whole lot..." The Doctor tries to wrestle the TV remote off a toddler on his lap. "Be nice!" I say.

"He changed the channel!"

"Ooo, look at that. Then ice it, any colour you want, here's one I made a little bit earlier, look at that. Your very own spaceship ready to eat. And there's something a little extra special..." The Doctor changes the channel back to the news. "... in hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything. But the body has been brought here, Albian Hospital, the roads closed off. It's the closest to the river. I'm being told that... General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body. Contained inside those walls..."

* * *

><p><em>Tosh hated working after hours. Seriously, Summer better have some good pay for her this week, or she will kill her! But, in Torchwood, you always were getting good pay. A group of soldiers enters the mortuary inside the hospital. General Asquith approaches the table next to Tosh where the alien lies covered with a cloth. "Let's have a look then." Asquith says and Tosh pulls back the cloth. "Good God! That's real? It's not a hoax or a dummy, or a...?" He's lost for words so Tosh talks. "I've x-rayed the skull. It's wired up inside like nothing I've ever seen before. No one could make this up."<em>

"_We've got experts being flown in. Your Commander will be coming too. Until they arrive... get that thing out of sight!" Tosh nods and covers the alien again. She knows she doesn't want to work at U.N.I.T. Too bossy! Asquith makes to leave but Tosh runs after him. "Excuse me sir!" The General stops and turns to face her. "I know it's a state of emergency and there's a lot of rumour flying around, but is it true, what they're saying? About the Prime Minister?" He walks up to Tosh and looks right into her face. "Tell Commander Watts and Captains Harkness and Tyler that what happens in Parliament is none of their business. We've had enough trouble with your freaky friends. Understood?" Tosh nods her head and the General walks out of the building._

* * *

><p>"Mystery still surrounds the whereabouts of the prime minister. He's not been seen since the emergency began. The opposition are criticising his lack of leadership. Hold on-" On the telly, a man gets out of his car and enters 10 Downing Street. "Oh- that's Joseph Green, MP for Hartley Dale. He's chairman on the parliamentary commission on the monitoring of sugar standards in exported confectionary. With respect, hardly the most important person right now." Oh, how wrong you are...<p>

* * *

><p><em>When Joseph Green enters 10 Downing Street, his hand is shaken by the Junior Secretary. "Indra Ganesh. Junior secretary. I'll be your liaison. "<em>

"_Where the hell is he?"_

"_If we could talk in private, sir. Follow me, upstairs." A woman approaches them from behind. "Excuse me! Harriet Jones. MP for Flydale North."_

"_I'm sorry, can it wait?" Indra says._

"_But I did have an appointment at 3:15."_

"_Yes. And a spaceship crashed in the middle of London. I think the schedule might have changed." The two men turn away from her and make their way up the stairs. "You've heard about the alien body, sir?"_

"_Never mind that, where is he? Where's the Prime Minister?"_

"_No one knows, sir. He's disappeared. I have to inform you with the city grid locked and the cabinet stranded that makes you acting Prime Minister. With immediate effect."_

"_Oh, Lord! Oh, hold on-" He stops and holds his stomach and farts loudly. "Pardon me... nervous stomach... anyway!" They run up the stairs and into the cabinet room corridor. Indra points out a fat, blonde woman. "Margaret Blaine. She's with MI5."_

"_There's no more information, sir. I personally escorted the Prime Minister from the cabinet room to his car, this is Oliver Charles, transport liaison."_

"_The car's disappeared. There's no record of it, sir. It literally vanished."_

"_Right, er- inside, tell me everything." Joseph ushers them into the cabinet room. "Er, sir?" Joseph turns around and sees Indra holds a red case out to him. "The emergency protocols. Detailing the actions to be taken by the government of Great Britain. In the event of an alien incursion, that is."_

"_Right! Good!" He then farts. "Blimey!" Indra looks slightly worried. "Pardon me." He takes the case. "Get to work, eh?" He enters the room after Margaret and Oliver and slams the case down on the long table. He then looks across at them and starts laughing. A few seconds later they join in. soon, they are all in hysterics._

* * *

><p><em>It is dark outside the Tyler's flat. The Doctor slips outside the back door of Rose's flat. Rose emerges after him. "And where do you think you're going?"<em>

"_Nowhere! It's just a bit human in there for me. History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."_

"_Right, there's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just 'wandering'."_

"_Nothing to do with me! It's not an invasion! That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything! It's perfect!"_

"_So..."_

"_So maybe this is it! First contact! The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've _got _to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay! Now you can expand!" He laughs in delight. Rose smiles. "You don't need me- go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum and Summer." He walks away._

"_Promise you won't disappear?" Rose says. He stops and turns around again. He feels his jacket pockets. "Tell you what- TARDIS key." He hands it to her. "Summer's already got one. About time you had one." He grins insanely. "See you later!" He walks out of the block of flats. There is a raucous party on the third floor with a banner hanging over the balcony saying "THE ALIENS HAVE LANDED". A banner hanging from another window says "WELCOME TO OUR WORLD". A woman spots the Doctor and calls down to him. "Hey, gorgeous! Come back and join the party!" The Doctor ignores her and enters the TARDIS, grinning. He runs to the console, smacks down a few buttons and turns a handle. He beams up at it when it starts to move. The console starts to smoke. Looking slightly put-out, the Doctor hits it a couple of times with a hammer. Amazingly, this helps, and the Doctor kisses the hammer and gazes up at the console with a childish beam on his face._

* * *

><p><em>Everyone in Downing Street was having a stressful day. But, most of the stress was put on Indra, the junior secretary. Probably because a mad woman called Harriet Jones has been running around all day, trying to get in a meeting with the PM. Her new plan was to hoax Indra. She placed a cup of coffee on his desk. "I bet no one's brought you a coffee."<em>

"_Thank you."_

"_Pleasure." He decides to play along. He picks the cup up, but she doesn't leave, but looks down at him expectantly. "You still can't go in."_

"_Damn, you've seen through my cunning plan."_

"_Look, I'm sorry. It's just impossible." He was sorry. Sorry that this woman was so mad to think about having a meeting with the PM at a time like this. He gets up. "Not even for two minutes?" He shakes his head. "I don't get many chances to walk these corridors. I'm hardly one of the babes, just a faithful back bencher. I know we've had a brave new world land right on our doorstep, and that's wonderful. I think that's probably wonderful. Nevertheless, ordinary life keeps ticking away." She rifles through her handbag and hands Indra a folder that he doesn't take. "I need to enter this paper." Joseph Green, Margaret Blaine and Oliver Charles suddenly emerge from the cabinet room. "Oh! Mr. Green, sir, I know you're busy, but could you put this on the next cabinet agenda?"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Cottage hospitals." Joseph looks at Indra in alarm who gives an apologetic and resigned wave of his hand. "I've worked out a system whereby cottage hospitals do not have to be excluded from centers of excellence. You see, my mother's in the Flydale infirmary, that's my constituency. Tiny lisle place, you wouldn't know it, but to give me a chance to-"_

"_By all the saints, get some perspective, woman! I'm busy." All of them, including Indra, file out of the room, each giving her a funny look as they pass. Harriet is left alone holding her papers. She looks to make sure they are really gone, then slips into the cabinet room. She places her papers on the table, on top of the emergency protocols. She then seems to change her mind and picks them up again. She opens the case and puts it inside instead. Satisfied, she is just about to close it again when she spots the folder with "Emergency Protocols- Classified Information" written on the front. She sits on the chair in front of the case and opens the folder. She begins to read the first page with a look of awe on her face._

* * *

><p>Rose walks back into the room and sits down on a chair near me. We watch the TV for a few seconds. "Do you think the alien's real?" She asks. I shrug. "I mean, if it is, what's going to happen?"<p>

"I reckon the human race will do what they always do. Lock it up and do tests on it."

"You're saying as if there's aliens on Earth already?

"Of course! Technology being stolen from alien ships, aliens being locked up, but it's just being covered up. There's even some guys who are alien experts. There's organisations to cover it up. U.N.I.T for one. Unified Intelligence Task Force."

"Okay. You're insane, but okay."

"Uhm," I scoff, and look down.

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor emerges from the TARDIS, which seems to have landed squashed up a in a small storeroom. He looks around in slight confusion and then makes his way to the door. He turns on his sonic screwdriver, which makes a loud buzzing noise. He turns it off again hurriedly. "Shh!" He finishes unlocking the door, puts his sonic screwdriver away and opens the door. He finds himself in a room where about twenty soldiers are sitting around talking and laughing. They fall silent when he opens the door. There is a pause while they all stare at each other, then they all leap to their feet and point their guns at him. The Doctor grins. Again. Hearing a scream, the Doctor stops smiling and runs to the door. "Defence part delta! Come on, move move!" All the soldiers follow him from the room in the direction of the scream.<em>

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor spots Tosh cowering on the floor. "It's alive!" The Doctor turns to the men behind him. "Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lock down." He runs to Tosh's side and holds her hands. "My God, it's still alive." The soldiers are still standing there watching them. The Doctor turns to them. "Do it!" They run off and start searching the building. The Doctor turns back to Tosh. Blood is leaking out from under her hairline. "I swear it was dead."<em>

"_Coma, shock, hibernation, anything. What does it look like?" There is a slight sound from behind him. He turns around quickly. "It's still here." He stands up and beckons another soldier into the room. He walks forward quietly, looking for the source of the sound. When he hears another rattling he drops to his knees and crawls to peer behind the desk. From the other side of the desk, the face of a pig peers back at him, snorting. "Hello!" The pig squeals in terror and runs across the room. The soldier readies his gun. "Don't shoot!" The pig runs along the corridor. One of the soldiers points his gun at it and shoots before the Doctor can stop him. "What did you do that for? It was scared!" The soldier looks from him to the pig in alarm. The Doctor crouches down to look at the pig. "It was scared." He strokes the pig as it dies._

* * *

><p><em>Harriet Jones hears voices approaching the cabinet room. "I've got the White House phoning me direct because Downing Street won't answer their calls. This is outrageous! We haven't even started the vaccination prota. This is appalling. The nations of the world are watching the U.K!"<em>

"_Well, it has all been a bit of a shock."_

"_This is the greatest crisis in modern history and you've done nothing! Your behaviour has been shameful, sir. You're supposed to be in charge and we need positive leadership. The capital's ground to a halt." They enter the room. Harriet disappears into a cupboard just in time. "Furthermore, we can only assume that the Prime Minister's disappearance is the direct result of hostile alien action. And what have you been doing? Nothing."_

"_Sorry! Sorry. Uh... I thought I was Prime Minister now."_

"_Only by default."_

"_Ooooh, that's not fair! I've been having so much fun." The General looks outraged. "You think this is_ fun_?"_

"_It's a hoot, this job." Joseph, Margaret and Oliver all start to laugh. "Honestly!" Margaret says. "It's super!" Oliver farts. "Oh! S'cuse me!" He farts again. "Ooo!" They burst out laughing again. "What's going on here? And where's the rest of the cabinet? Why haven't they been air lifted in?"_

"_Cancelled it! They'd only get in the way." Joseph farts. "Oh, there I go." He farts twice more, heartily. Margaret joins in. "Oh, and me! I'm shaking my booty!" They laugh more hysterically and fart. "Sir! Under Section 5 of the Emergency Protocols, it is my duty to relieve you of command." They stop laughing and look up at the general darkly. "And by God, I'll put this country under marshal law if I have to."_

"_Oh, I'm _scared_. I mean, that's hair raising. I mean, literally. Look!" He somehow unzips his forehead, with a bright blue light shining from the gap. Bewildered, the general looks at the other two, who also unzip their foreheads. Where she is watching from a crack through the door, Harriet's eyes widen in shock. There are some disgusting and worrying noises from the cabinet room and Harriet leans back against the wall of the cupboard, horrified._

* * *

><p><em>Dr Sato and the Doctor are standing over the pig's body. "I just assumed that's what ordinary alien's look like. But you're saying it's an ordinary pig? From Earth?"<em>

"_More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat and gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now, someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on... then they strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke."_

"_So it's a fake. A pretend. Like the mermaid. But the technology augmenting its brain... it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that?" She turns to face the Doctor, but to her dismay, he has vanished. "Doctor?" She hurries from the room after him. On the corridor, she looks up and down but sees no one. "Doctor?" She turns to hear the sound of the TARDIS leaving. Obviously, she does not know what this sound is._

* * *

><p>What do I do? I'm stuck in the Tyler's flat, which is extremely crowded and I'm happy Rose is sitting next to me as there is lots of people around that I wouldn't want to be squished next to. My Doctor Who DVDS are in another universe so I can't watch them again and see what happens and I can't really remember most bits of it. Nine was never my favourite Doctor. He was always a grump, and now he's more than that. He's an idiot for not wanting me.<p>

Now, I know I might sound like Rachel Berry here, but, come on!

Jackie raises her wine glass in a toast. "Here's to the Martians!"

"The Martians!" Everyone except me and Rose says. The laughter suddenly dies away and we look around from the TV to see why everyone has gone quiet. Oh. Mickey.

* * *

><p>"You disappear, who do they turn to? Your boyfriend. Five times, I was taken in for questioning. Five times. No evidence, of course there couldn't be, could there. And then I get her, your mother." He points at Jackie who rolls her eyes. "Whispering around the estate, pointing the finger, stuff through my letterbox, and all 'cos of you."<p>

"I didn't think I'd be gone so long."

"And I was waiting for you, Rose! Twelve months. Waiting for you, Summer and the Doctor to come back."

"Hold on, you knew about them? Why didn't you tell me?" Mickey notices someone trying to listen through the window in the kitchen. He slams the window doors shut. "Yeah, yeah. Why not, Rose? Huh? How could I tell her where you went?"

"Because I saved your life?" I said from where I was sitting on the floor.

"Tell me now." Jackie says forcefully.

"I might as well, 'cos you're stuck here. Both of you. The Doctor's gone. Just now, that box thing just faded away."

"What do you mean?" Rose asks. Oh, great, Mickey. Just make her stressed out, will you? "He's left you. Some boyfriend he turned out to be." Rose runs for the door and I follow her. "Rose!" I shout, grabbing my puffy jacket on the way out.

* * *

><p>We're standing at the spot where the TARDIS was parked. "He wouldn't just go, he promised us he would stay."<p>

"Oh, he's dumped you, Rose. Sailed off into space. Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it."

"But he would have said." Jackie walks over to them. "What're you three chimps going on about? What's going on? What's this Doctor done now?" Mickey chortles at the top of his lungs. "He's vamoosed!"

"He's not!" Rose says, loosing her temper. "'Cos he gave me this!" She shows his the TARDIS key. Mickey gives a 'so what?' sort of shrug. "He's not my boyfriend, Mickey, he's better than that. He's much more important than-" She breaks of as the TARDIS key starts to glow in time with the sound of the TARDIS engines. I feel a burning sensation near one of my pockets, so I take out my key. It's really cool to have one, the ABC shop should have sold them. "I said so." Rose says. The engines get louder, and Rose turns to her mother. "Mum, mum, go inside. Mum, don't stand there, just go inside. Just, mum, go..." But Jackie isn't listening to her. She is staring transfixed over Rose's shoulder, where the TARDIS is appearing out of thin air. The engines grind to a halt and Mickey points to the TARDIS meaningfully. "Uh?" Jackie just stares at it in amazement. "How'd you do that, then?" Rose looks at her warily. I walk up to the TARDIS, open the doors and go inside.

"Alright, so I lied! I went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake, I thought so, it's just too perfect. I mean, 'hitting the Big Ben' come on, so I thought let's go and have a look-"

"Rose's mum's here." I say and the doors creak open and Mickey leads Jackie in. The Doctor looks around. "Oh, that's JUST what I need. Don't you two dare make this place domestic!"

"You ruined my life, Doctor." The Doctor spins around smoothly to face Mickey the idiot. "They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you."

"See what I mean?" The Doctor says to me. "Domestic." He spins back to face the computer screen. "I bet you don't even remember my name!"

"Rickey."

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Rickey."

"I think I know my own name."

"You THINK you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

"Mum, don't!" I wheel around to see that Jackie's run away. "Don't go anywhere! And don't start a fight!" She runs outside quickly and runs back in again. "That was a REAL spaceship?"

"Yep!"

"So, it's all a pack of lies? What is it then, are they invading?"

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert." I turn around to see Mickey standing on tippy toes trying to look at the screen.

"Good point! So, what're they up to?"

* * *

><p>"Got it! Haha!" The Doctor gets up from under the TARDIS and goes to look at the computer. I move next to him and Rose next to me. "Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of the spaceship, here we go... hold on..." He whacks the computer screen "Come on!" It works and he moves the screen towards Rose and I. "That's the spaceship on it's way to Earth... see? Except... hold on.. see, the spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed."<p>

"What does that mean?" Rose asks.

"It means it came from Earth in the first place- it went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived. They've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

* * *

><p><em>Indra rushes up to the three Slitheen, now all in their skin suits. "General Asquith! Sir, we've had a priority alarm. It's code nine confirmed. Code nine."<em>

"_Code nine, huh?" The Slitheen has no idea was he is talking about. "Which would mean?" The Slitheen who has the skin suit of Margaret gives a small and apologetic laugh while the Slitheen who has the skin suit of Joseph, the prime minister, shakes his head behind him. "Well, in the event of the emergency protocols being activated... we've got software that automatically searches all communications for key words. And some of those words is 'Doctor, 'Summer Watts' and 'The TARDIS'. I think we've found them, sir._

"_What sort of Doctor?" The female Slitheen asks. "And what kind of name is Summer Watts? Who are they?"_

"_Well, evidently the Doctor's some sort of expert in extra-terrestrial affairs, the _ultimate _expert! And Summer Watts works for Torchwood, she's their best in alien matters. Well, apparently best in everything. And we need them, sir. We need them here right now!"_

* * *

><p>The Doctor is switching the console screen from channel to channel. "How many channels do you get?" Mickey asks.<p>

"All the basic packages."

"You get sports channels?"

"Yes, I get the football."

"The music?" I ask.

"Yes, the music channels as well."

"I can have Panic! attacks with their videos now!" The Doctor looks at me strangely. "You are really strange, you know that?" I shrug and he looks back at the screen. "Hold on, I know that bloke."

"_It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists, those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space._"

"U.N.I.T! United Nations Intelligence Task force, good people. Don't know who that woman is though." He points at the screen. "In the red Range Rover. She seems young." She wasn't in the show...

"How do you know them?" Rose asks.

"'Cos he's worked for them." Mickey pipes in. We all turn to him. "Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet... and in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead."

"That's nice. Good boy, Rickey."

"If you know them," Rose asks. "Why don't you go and help?"

"They wouldn't recognise me. I've changed a lot since the old days." I'm happy that you're not wearing a celery stick. "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover... and eh, better keep the TARDIS out of sit. Rickey! You've got a car, you can do some driving." He walks towards the TARDIS door. "Where to?"

"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship."

* * *

><p>We step out of the TARDIS to the sound of helicopters, we are immediately caught out by a searchlight. "DO NOT MOVE!" Someone says over a loudspeaker. Police cars and soldiers surround us, pointing guns and preventing our escape. Mickey makes a run for it. Jackie runs out of the flats and tries to get to Rose but two soldiers restrain her. "RAISE YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" We put our hands above our heads. "Take me to your leader!" The Doctor says stupidly.<p>

* * *

><p>Rose clambers into the car next to me. The door shuts and we drive off. "This is a bit posh. If I knew it was gonna be like this, being arrested, I'd have done it years ago."<p>

"We're not being arrested," The Doctor says. "We're being escorted!"

"Where to?"

"Where'd you think? Downing Street!" They laugh. I don't really get what the fuss is about. "You're kidding."

"I'm not!"

"10 Downing Street?"

"That's the one!" Rose laughs with glee. "Oh, my God! I'm going to 10 Downing Street?"

"I've never asked," I start, "But isn't it really small for a government placey wacey... you know what I mean. Like, Australia's Parliament House is humongous!"

"There's more than one building!"

"How come? I mean, how come we are going there?" Rose asks.

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, uh, noticed."

"Now they need you?"

"Like it said on the news, they're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest experts of the lot?" He grins expectantly at her. "Patrick Moore?"

"Apart from him!"

"Ah, don't you just love it..."

"I'm telling you. Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table. Who's the Prime Minister now?"

"How should I know? I missed a year!"

* * *

><p>We pull up outside 10 Downing Street, where the paparazzi and hundreds of police men are there. The Doctor gets out of the car first, and waves at them all, grinning manically. Rose smile nervously as she gets out and then I get out. Now, this is the life! I mean, I'm on TV! And there's paparazzi! "WOO!" I scream and put up rockstar hand signs. The paparazzi take photos of me and I run inside. Now I feel really pathetic. For some reason, this reminds me of Ben 10. What is my life coming to?<p>

* * *

><p>Indra enters the room we are in. "Ladies and gentleman, could we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times." As if I'm going to wear one of those! Indra approaches us and hands the Doctor an ID card. "Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."<p>

"I don't go anywhere without them." He loops the ID card around his neck. Indra looks slightly annoyed. "You're the code nine, not them." Harriet sidles up to us. "I'm sorry, Doctor... it is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll have to stay outside." I catch a ginger-haired woman looking at me before going in. Hold on, isn't that the woman with the red Range Rover? She gives me the creeps. "They're staying with me." The Doctor's voice brings me back down to Earth.

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."

"It's alright, you go," Rose says.

"We'll be fine!" I assure him even though I really, really, really want to go in there to see who that woman is. Harriet appears at Indra's shoulder. "Excuse me? Are you the Doctor?" Indra looks horrified that she's there. "Not now, we're busy, can't you go home!" The Doctor turns to us. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they're the experts, you should hear what they've got to say. Although Summer is a nerd."

"Oi!" I elbow her in the arm.

"I s'pose so. About both things. Summer, you are a nerd for a human. Don't get into any trouble." Huh. Trouble finds us. The Doctor follows all the experts into the room.

"I just need a word in private!" Harriet argues with Indra.

"You haven't got clearance, now leave it!" Indra takes Rose's arm. "I'm going to have to leave you two with security." He begins to lead us away before Harriet grabs me. It's like a game of tug-a-war! "It's alright. I'll look after them. Let me be of some use." She lets go of my arm as Indra lets go of Rose's and we walk away with Harriet. "Walk with me. Just keep walking..." We walk past the guards at the door. "That's right... don't look around! Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." She shows us her ID card.

* * *

><p><em>The experts are sitting down in their seats. The two Slitheen in skin suits make their way to the desk at the front. The Doctor enters last and takes a seat at the back of the room next to a ginger-haired woman. The same ginger-haired woman in the red Range Rover. He reads the booklet he finds on the chair extremely quickly. The woman next to him is doing the same, at the same quick pace.<em>

* * *

><p>We're standing in a corridor of Downing Street, Harriet is talking to us, upset and distressed. "This friend of yours... he's an expert, is that right? He knows about... aliens?"<p>

"Why do you want to know?" Rose asks. Harriet breaks down into tears. Rose takes her arms awkwardly in an attempt to comfort her."

* * *

><p><em>"Ladies and gentleman," One of the Slitheen start saying. "I'd like to have your attention please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant-"<em>

_"Now," The Doctor says, interrupting the Slitheen, "The REALLY interesting bit happened three days ago. See, filed away under every other business. The North Sea, the satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at one hundred fathoms like there was something down there... you were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens, spaceships, pigs, massive diversion, from what?"_

* * *

><p>We are in the cabinet room and Harriet is showing us the skin suit of that guy, what's his name? Can't remember. "They turned the body into a suit! A disguise for the thing inside!" Harriet burst into tears again and Rose holds her. "It's alright! I believe you."<p>

"It's alien," I start. "They must have a lot of technology behind this... if we could find it..." I start rummaging around the room. "... we could use it." I open a cupboard and the Prime Minister's body falls out. Rose and Harriet rush over to me and examine it. "Oh, my god!" Rose says. "Is that-"

"Harriet, for God's sake!" Indra comes in. "This has gone beyond a joke, you cannot just wander..." He drifts off when he spots the body on the floor. "Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister."

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor is still lecturing the experts and the Slitheen. "If the aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get?" The ginger-haired woman gets up and goes to the front of the room. "Didn't you already know? Us. They get us. It's not a diversion, it's a trap."<em>

* * *

><p>"Ohhh!" A Slitheen in a skin suit comes into the room. "Has someone been naughty?" Indra walks forward. I know what happens next, and I'm going to avoid it. "Indra, get back." He looks at me. "How do you know my name?" I look at him and he looks back at the Slitheen. "That's impossible. He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street, he was driven away!"<p>

"Get back, Indra!"

"And who told you that, hmm?" She walks forward a few steps. "Me." She strokes the hair from her forehead and starts to unzip her head.

* * *

><p><em>"This is all about us." The Doctor says and the experts all look intrigued. "Alien experts," the ginger-haired woman says. "The only people with the knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room." One of the Slitheen farts. "Excuse me," The Doctor says. "Do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?"<em>

_"Would you rather silent but deadly?"_

_"Oh, disgusting," The ginger-haired woman says. "I mean, really, disgusting. I mean for what you're about to do in what," She checks her watch. "About thirty seconds?" The two Slitheen snigger. The one in the General's suit takes off his hat and undoes the zip on his forehead while the other Slitheen laughs manically. The General pulls the skin suit down and reveals the Slitheen inside. The Doctor stares at him, transfixed. The ginger-haired woman takes off her ID card and puts it on the ground when they're not looking._

* * *

><p>The Slitheen pulls out of the skin suit, revealing herself to Harriet, Indra, Rose and I. She stands before us.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"WE ARE THE SLITHEEN!" The skin-suit-less Slitheen says.<em>

_"Right you are!" The ginger-haired woman says. "A big blob of ugliness."_

* * *

><p>Margaret roars in delight and almost grabs Indra, but I pull him back.<p>

Another dude saved. Two down, millions left.

* * *

><p><em>"Thank you all for wearing your ID cards." He pulls a switch from his pocket, at the ready. "They'll help identify the bodies." He presses the button. Everyone except the ginger-haired woman is bathed in electric light. The Doctor falls to his knees in pain. The ginger-haired woman falls to the floor as if she's in pain too.<em>


	9. World War Three

**A/N - **rewrite chapter of World War Three

* * *

><p><em>▒ ix. world war three<em>

* * *

><p><em>With a huge effort, Summer Watts takes off the Doctor's ID card. She holds it up as well as her own. "Deadly to humans, maybe." She plunges it into the chest of each of the Slitheen. Both Slitheen howl in pain. The Doctor stands up and they dash to the door of the conference room, past all the bodies.<em>

* * *

><p>The Slitheen gets covered in electricity and staggers back. Rose grabs Harriet's hand and I grab Indra's and we run from the room, Harriet whimpering slightly, Rose just looking terrified.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor and Summer finds security all gathered in reception. "Oi!" The Doctor calls. The security looks at them. "You want aliens, you've got them. They're inside Downing Street." He claps his hands. "Come on!"<em>

"_Defence pattern, alpha, now move!" Summer screams. "This is your commander speaking!" She leads them in the direction of the conference room, their guns at the ready. Summer takes out her gun on the way. It's futuristic looking and too advanced for Earth, 21st Century, but no one really cares in the rush to get to the conference room._

* * *

><p>We're running down a corridor in Downing Street. Something I never thought I would do. "No," Harriet says. "Wait!" We grind to a halt. "They're still in there! The emergency protocols. We need them!" Indra rolls his eyes. If I had to put up with her the whole day, I would die. And there is an international emergency going on. Hell. Indra has a right to roll his eyes! "We don't need the protocols!" I say on Indra's behalf. She ignores me and runs back in the direction of the cabinet room. Rose follows her, but they are quickly forced to change direction as the Slitheen comes our way. Hell.<p>

See? This is why you don't listen to politicians people. Unless they're Kevin Rudd doing the 'silent fistbump', where he turns to the side and punchs the air. I mean, that's just awesome. Nerdiness awesome, but awesome!

Probably isn't a time to be talking about 'silent fistbumps'.

I take the lead, running across the hallway. Rose closes a door behind us sealing one corridor from another. I skid to a standstill. No use, the Slitheen simply leaps through it. I open a door in front of us leading to another hallway and Indra, Rose and Harriet runs through before I close the door in front of me.

Like it's going to work. It's not like I have time to put some furniture against the door.

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor and Summer leads security into the conference room, where the leader Slitheen is making the finishing touches to the other's skin suit. They both stop when they see the Doctor and security standing there. "Where've you been?" Security start checking the bodies while the Doctor and Summer glare at the two Slitheen. They meet their glances with equally bad death stares. "I called for help, I sounded the alarm. There was this... lightening! This kind of er... um... electricity, and they collapsed!" The main guard looks up from inspecting one of the bodies pulse, which, there's no pulse. "I think they're all dead."<em>

"_That's what I'm saying. He did it!" He points at the Doctor. "That man there! And the girl!" The Doctor turns to one of the guards beside him. "I think you will find the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise." The Slitheen in question folds his arms in disbelief. Summer turns to the guard beside her. "And I think you'll find that I'm the one and only Commander Watts of Torchwood and I out-rank you. Even the Prime Minister. And I'm Australian, so I'm awesome." The Doctor looks at Summer at this last point in disbelief. He thens looks back at the guard next to him. "That's never going to work, is it?"_

"_Nope."_

"_Fair enough." The pair push through the guards and heads for the door, and the guards come running after them._

* * *

><p><em>Security are hot on the Doctor and Summer's tail, and they soon find themselves surrounded. They put their hands in the air, the Doctor grinning wildly. "Under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Protocols," The Slitheen in the General's suit says, "I authorise you to execute these two!" Security ready their guns. "Uh, well," The Doctor starts," Now, yes. You see, eh... the thing is... if I was you, if I was going to execute someone by backing them against the wall, between you and me, little word of advice..." The lift behind Summer and the Doctor pings open. "Don't stand them against the lift!" They back into the lift and closes the door with his sonic screwdriver.<em>

* * *

><p>Hey, my veins may be pumping adrenaline, and I may look like I can run forever, and I am a 17 year old girl, but I can't. I suck at running, and the only reason I'm running fast is because there's a great big blob of ugliness chasing me.<p>

Uh. Great big blob of ugliness. Might use that.

Rose overtakes me and knees a locked door. Behind us, the lift doors ping open. I swing around and see the Slitheen looking open-mouthed at the lift, where the Doctor and another girl with red hair is. She isn't in the show...

The Slitheen roars at them and he smiles and nods at us. "Hello!" The girls rolls her eyes and the doors shut again, distracting the Slitheen long enough for us to slip away un-noticed.

* * *

><p>Great. Dead end. "Hide!" Rose screams and I hide in one of the cupboards.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The lift pings and the Doctor and Summer step out on the second floor. "This way!" Summer whispers and runs off.<em>

* * *

><p>I hear the Slitheen's big giant elephant footsteps get into the room. "Oh, such fun!" She says. "Little human children... where are you? Sweet little humeykins... come to me... let me kiss you better... kiss you with my big, green lips..." She hisses. I reach for my back jean pocket. "No chance," I whisper.<p>

And then goes my badass! If anyone from school saw this, they'd be like, woah! Is this the nerd I know? Well, actually, honeys, I'm Summer Watts.

And I've got a stun gun.

I crash through the cupboard door and shoot the Slitheen the stun gun, right in the chest. She falls to the ground and Indra, Harriet and Rose come out of their hiding places. Rose gives me a questioning look. I just shrug.

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor and Summer runs down a flight of stairs, hearing the Sergeant barking orders in the distance. Then they hear the lift ping, and hastily backtracks and hides in a crevice next to the door. The two Slitheen walk past. "We'll keep this floor quarantined as our last hunting ground before the final phase." The Doctor and Summer wait until they are out of sight.<em>

* * *

><p>We hear big, gigantic footsteps and all four of us hastily get back into our hiding places. I close the door to the cupboard before the Slitheen come in. "Sister!" One says. "What did the puny humans do to you? No matter. We will kill them all."<p>

"Take me!" I hear Harriet's voice. "No! Take me first! Take me!" Like that's going to work. I hear a crash and some noise I can't quite distinguish. I get out of the cupboard and I see the Doctor blasting a fire extinguisher in one of the Slitheen's faces, while the other woman puts a gun to one of the Slitheen's heads. "Be nice so we can leave darling," She says in a sing song voice before frowning. "Or I might pull the trigger." Her tone turns to stern and if I had her as a principal, my years in school would be bad...

"Out!" The Doctor screams. "With me!" I move behind him, even the badass girl gets behind him, still holding up her gun and now taking out her...

Taking out her sword? How cool is that! Is she trying to get the Tanith Low effect or what?

"Who the hell are you two?" The Doctor asks Harriet and Indra.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. And this is Indra Ganesh, junior secretary."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Focus on the alien?" Indra asks and the Doctor blasts the fire extinguisher again. Then we run for it.

Again with the running!

* * *

><p>"We need to get to the cabinet rooms!" The Doctor shouts. We keep on running. I have a feeling that my Dalton Academy Warblers shirt is now drenched with my sweat. "The Emergency Protocols are in there!" Harriet says. I roll my eyes, and I can see that the ginger girl does the same. I think she is trying to get the Tanith Low effect, she's got the long leather coat, she's holding two swords (yeah, she's got two) and all the time, she's at the back, ready to defend us. I'm liking her more every second. "They give instructions on aliens!"<p>

"Harriet Jones, I like you." You're the only one then.

"And I like you too."

* * *

><p>We have no time to close the door to the cabinet room when we get there, so instead the Doctor picks up a bottle of brandy and holds his sonic screwdriver to it. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof! We all go up. So back off." The ginger Tanith Low picks up another bottle, gulps a bit of the alcohol down and gets a sonic screwdriver out of her pocket. "Same here." Oh my god. She looks like a ginger Tanith Low, she has two swords and a gun, and she has a sonic screwdriver? What, she's going to have psychic paper as well? "You have a sonic screwdriver?" The Doctor asks.<p>

"Of course I do. I'm an alien!" Add that to all the good things. She's an alien as well! "You're an alien?" Indra, Harriet and Rose ask at the same time.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

"Right then," The Doctor says. "Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens," Harriet says.

"Yeah, I got that, thanks."

"Who are you two, if not human?" One of the Slitheen ask.

"Who's not human as well as this girl?" Harriet asks.

"The Doctor's not human," Rose says.

"He's not human?"

"Can I have a bit of hush?" The Doctor asks.

"Sorry."

"So- what's the plan?"

"But he's go a Northern accent. And she's got an Australian one!"

"Lots of planets have a North." Rose says. Ginger Tanith turns to Harriet. "I'm an Australian alien. Heh, that rhymes."

"I said hush. Come on!" He holds the brandy threateningly out in front of him. "You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government, what for? Invasion?"

"Why would we invade this God forsaken rock?"

"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"

"'The Slitheen Race'? Slitheen is not our species, Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen at your service."

"So you're family."

"It's a family business."

"Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a 'God forsaken rock'?"

"Ahhhh... excuse me?" Oh, no. "Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability...?"

"Is that what I said?"

"You're making it up!"

"Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're going to need it." He offers her the brandy while ginger Tanith takes a swig of her bottle. "Pass it to the left first." Harriet says. I still don't get that to this day.

"Sorry." He hands it to Rose.

"Thanks." Rose says.

"Now we can end this hunt... with a slaughter," The two Slitheen flex their claws menacingly. The Doctor folds his arms. "Don't you think we should run?" Rose asks.

"Fascinating history, Downing Street. Two thousand years ago, this was march land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mr. Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the cabinet room, if the cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." He moves forward to a switch in the side of the door. "End of lesson." He flicks the switch and every entrance to the room is immediately blocked by metal shutter. The Doctor turns to us. Indra, Harriet and Rose look shocked. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And how do we get out?" Rose asks. There's a pause. "Ah."

"Great." Tanith says sarcastically, already seated on one of the chairs, feet on the table. So badass...

* * *

><p>Tanith is still drinking her alcohol, just sitting on one of the chairs, feet up on the desks. Indra told her earlier that she shouldn't put her feet up on the chairs. She told him that she didn't care if the biggest people in parliament were aliens. When Harriet told her the same thing, she told her to piss off.<p>

She's awesome.

Right now, she's gotten out her laptop, that's too new for 2005. And I have no idea how it fitted in her pockets. I mean, unless she's got bigger on the inside pockets, which she probably has, it wouldn't fit. She's connected to BBC 1, and is watching the news. I can hear it from over where I'm sitting on the floor, listening to Panic! At The Disco's album, Vices And Virtues. "_And there's still no word from inside Downing Street, though we are getting even more new arrivals. That's group Captain Tennant James of the RAF, though why he's been summoned, I've no idea. And that's ah... Ewan McAllister. Deputy Secretary for the Scottish Parliament. And this is most unusual! I'm told that is Sylvia Dillane, chairman of the North Sea Boating Club. Quite what connects these people, we have no idea._"

Seems the Slitheen are gathering up the rest of their family. We're going to war.

Still a time to listen to Panic! At The Disco.

* * *

><p>"Right, what have we got?" The Doctor asks. "Any terminals? Anything?"<p>

"No," Tanith says, closing her laptop so the Doc can't see it. "The place is antique." She says with disgust, and fits her laptop neatly into her jacket pocket. "What I don't get," Rose says. "Is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise? And why does Summer have a gun?"

"He's too slim," The Doctor answers. "They're big old beasts, they need to fit inside big humans. And Summer? You have a gun?"

"It's just a stun gun," I reply, catching his gaze. He's stern, and I match his gaze with equal sternness. "I found it in the TARDIS. I saved those three's life. If I didn't have it, it would be only you and Tanith Low here. So deal with it." Tanith looked at me and laughed. "I more like to think of myself as a Valkyrie Cain, but I can go with Tanith." Oh my god. She knows about Skulduggery Pleasant.

This is so cool!

"Okay then," Rose says. "But the Slitheen are about 8 feet, how do they squeeze inside?"

"That's the device around their necks," The Doctor says. "Compression field, literally shrinks them down a bit, that's why there's all that gas. It's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller." Tanith or Valkyrie, whatever, laughs and Harriet looks shocked. "Excuse me, people are dead, this is not the time for making jokes."

"Sorry... but you get used to this stuff when you're friends with them." She indicates the Doctor and I. The Doctor is busily scanning the walls with his sonic screwdriver. "Well, that's a strange friendship."

"Harriet Jones," The Doctor says. "I've heard that name before, Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?"

"Huh! Hardly."

"Rings a bell, Harriet Jones," Yeah, it would. For the most annoying Prime Minister. I mean, she's really annoying. I don't hold anything against the woman, I mean, in a few years time, she will sacrifice herself, but she is god damn annoying! "Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid. And a fat lot of use I'm being now, the protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs. Except for you, Doctor. And her, but I don't know her name. What is your name?" Tanith looks up from filing her nails. "Do you need to know?"

"We're all in this together, so you could tell us." Indra rolls his eyes and sits down next to Rose and starts reading the protocols. "Harriet, just leave it."

"No, I want to know."

"Stop it Harriet," I say. "We're all tired and stressed and we don't need you to keep naggin' us."

"But I want to know."

"She's got a good point, though," The Doctor asks. Does it matter, Tanith's awesome! "What is your name?"

"Again, do you need to know?" Tanith says. She rolls her eyes at the Doctor, likes she's been his friend for years. "Just tell us!" Rose says, getting frustrated.

"No!" Tanith loses it and walks over to a corner. She takes a breath and turns around again. "Fine. It's Amy Anderson." Figures in my brain cross across in my mind and things match up. I gasp, but so no one can hear me.

Oh my god.

It's me.

"Commander Anderson." She looks me straight in the eye.

Okay, so you're probably wondering how I know this. Taking if she's trying to get a message across to me, it's my two favourite characters from TV shows that aren't Doctor Who. Glee and The Big Bang Theory. Blaine Anderson and Amy Farrah Fowler. Because they are completely and utterly awesome. So, combine that together...

Amy Anderson.

She's me. Completely and utterly awesome, badass, cool me.

"Back to business," Rose says and sits down. "Haven't we got like, defence codes and things? Can we just launch a nuclear bomb at 'em?" I sit down next to myself and Harriet stares at Rose. "You're a very violent woman..."

"I'm serious! We could!"

"Well, there's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the UN." The Doctor stops scanning the mantelpiece and my older version of myself (who's completely awesome, may I say again?) stops playing with her nails. "Say that again," The Doctor says.

"What, about the codes?"

"Anything. All of it."

"Um, well... the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN."

"Like that's ever stopped them," Rose says.

"Exactly, given our past record, and I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the governments hands and given to the UN."

"Except for Torchwood," my older self says, butting in. "We can access the codes as we're higher than U.N.I.T. I do it all the time. Except the codes are back at base. But Jack would be there." Oh, my god. Captain Jack Harkness! I'm fangirl squealing inside my head! Just hearing his name turns me on! The Doctor is deep in thought. "Is it important?" Harriet asks.

"Everything's important."

"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted. Listen to me, I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal."

"What do they want, though?" Indra asks. I still can't believe he's here, he's alive and I saved him. And I haven't even got a thank you yet. Great. "Well, it's just one family so it's not an invasion," The Doctor says. "They don't want Slitheen world... they're out to make money, which means they want to use something, something here on Earth... some kind of asset."

"Like what?" Harriet asks. "Gold? Oil? Water?"

"You're very good at this." She smiles at him, pleased as punch. "Thank you."

"Harriet Jones, why do I know that name?" Rose's phone goes off, interrupting the Doctor's thought. "Oh! That's me." She takes her phone out of her pocket. "But we're sealed off!" Harriet exclaims. "How did you get a signal?"

"He zapped it!" Rose says, indicating the Doctor. "Super-phone." Harriet looks at the Doctor in amazement. "Then we can phone for help! You must have contacts!"

"Either dead downstairs or here, yeah."

"It's Mickey," Rose says, her voice suddenly very grave.

"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."

"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." She shows the room her phone. Mickey has sent her the photo of the Slitheen in Jackie's kitchen. She calls him quickly and Mickey starts babbling on, I can hear him faintly through the phone. "No, no, no, no, no, not just alien, but like, proper alien. All stinking, and wet, and disgusting. And more to the point, it wanted to kill us!"

"Is she alright, though, mum?" Rose says, concerned. "Don't put her on, just tell me." The Doctor snatches the phone from her. "Is that Rickey? Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer."

"It's Mickey. And why should I?"

"Mickey the idiot. I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but eh... I need you." Rose and I smile at him, and my older self starts laughing hysterically. Well, she can. She's in love with him.

And I am.

* * *

><p>Mickey's on the U.N.I.T website. "It says password." The Doctor is putting the phone on speakerphone so he can't hear it. "Say again."<p>

"It's asking for a password."

"Hold on, I'll call Jack." Myself says and dials a number on her phone before putting it on speakerphone. "How come you can use your phone?" The Doctor asks.

"Jiggery pokery! Come on, pick up!" The phone stops ringing and Jack picks it up. "Hello?" So turned on...

"Go to the computer. I need you to check something."

"I'm... kinda busy at the moment." Damn.

"Do I sound like I want to know about your sexual activities?" Older me says, not at all affected by the fact the Captain Jack Harkness is doing something sexy with someone else.

"It was only kissing!"

"And knowing you it was going to escalate. Just go to the computer."

"Fine, fine, doing it. What do you need?"

"Those military codes, the ones that got taken from the UK and given to the UN."

"Buffalo, two fs, one l."

"Cool, thanks." She hangs up. "Put that in Mickey." We hear someone talking in the background and Mickey answering. "All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark."

"Mickey," The Doctor starts. "You were born in the dark."

"Oh, leave him alone." Rose says indignantly.

"Thank you. Password again."

"Just repeat it," The Doctor says, "Every time. Big Ben, why did the Slitheen hit Big Ben?"

"You said to gather the experts," Harriet says. "To kill them."

"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon, you don't need to crash land in the middle of London."

"The Slitheen were hiding," Rose says. "And then they put the entire planet on red alert, what would they do that for?"

"Oh, listen to her," Jackie says through the phone.

"At least I'm trying!"

"Well, I've got a question if you don't mind. Because since that man and that girl walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets, I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughter's disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"I told you what happened."

"I'm talking to them. 'Cause I've seen this life of yours, Doctor, Summer. And maybe you two get off on it. And maybe you two think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this, is my daughter safe?" The Doctor stares intently into the phone, as I do also. "I'm fine." Rose says.

"Is she safe? Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?" The Doctor and I glance up at Rose, who looks back at us, searching for any promise that she will be safe. But she won't. We all know that, I even think Rose knows that. "Well, what's the answer?"

"We're in." Mickey says, breaking the moment. Let off the hook, the Doctor rushes around the table to older me, standing... really close to her.

Seems like littlie Doctor has got a crushie!

"Right then, on the left, there's a tab, an icon, little concentric circles, click on that." A weird sound comes out of the phone. "What is it?" Mickey asks.

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal, now hush, let me work out what it's saying. It's some sort of message."

"What's it saying?" I ask. Older me looks like she's translating it.

"Don't know, it's on a loop, keeps repeating." Mickey's doorbell rings. "Hush!"

"That's not me. Go and see who that is?" He says to Jackie.

"It's three in the morning!"

"Well go and tell them that!"

"It's beaming into space," The Doctor says. "Who's it for?" We hear squealing in the background and Jackie says. "It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slickeen!" Older me snorts. "They've found us," Mickey says.

"Mickey, I need that signal!" The Doctor says, desperate.

"Never mind the signal," Rose says. I take a swig of alcohol. "Mum, just get out! Get out! Get out!"

"We can't," Mickey answers, Jackie's too busy squealing her head off. It's loud over the phone! "It's by the front door. Oh, my god. It's unmasking. It's gonna kill us."

"There's got to be some way of stopping them!" Harriet says. How did they stop them? I turn around, and see, a Silent. No way. Not here. Not now. I turn back around.

What? What just happened? "You two are supposed to be the experts, think of something!"

"I'm trying!" The Doctor says indignantly. "I'll take it on, Jackie," Mickey says. "You just run. Don't look back. Just run." Down the phone, we can hear the Slitheen smashing the door in. Rose looks at the Doctor. "That's my mother."

"Right!" The Doctor says. "If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from, which planet. So, judging by their face and shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!"

"They're green." Rose says. Not really...

"Yep, narrows it down."

"Uh, good sense of smell." I say. I have seemed to have lost my memory.

"Narrows it down."

"They can smell adrenaline." Indra says.

"Narrows it down."

"The compression technology." Harriet says.

"Narrows it down."

"The spaceship in the Thames," Rose says. "You said slipstream engine?"

"Narrows it down."

"It's getting in!" Mickey says.

"Oh!" Indra says. "They hunt like it's a ritual."

"Narrows it down."

"Wait a minute!" Older me screams and everyone looks at her. "Did you notice, when they fart, it doesn't just smell like a fart, it's something else, it smells like... BAD BREATH!"

"Calcium decay, now that narrows it down!" Go me!

"We're getting there Mum!" Rose shouts down the phone.

"Too late!" Mickey screams and Jackie squeals. Can't anyone give me any credit?

"Calcium phosphate, organic calcium, living calcium, creatures made out of calcium, what else, what else, hyphenated sodium, yes! That narrows it down to one planet! Raxacoricofallapatorius!" I can say that! "Oh, yeah, great," Mickey says. "We could write 'em a letter."

"Get into the kitchen!" We hear a pause, then a door slamming shut and objects crashing into the door. "My God," Jackie says, as we hear the Slitheen throwing it's weight against it. "It's going to rip us apart!"

"Calcium!" The Doctor exclaims. "Recombined with compression field, ascetic acid, vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal!" Older me exclaims.

"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"

"How should I know?" Mickey says.

"It's your kitchen."

"Cupboard, by the sink," Rose says. "Middle shelf."

"Give it here," Jackie says. "What do you need?"

"Anything with vinegar!"

"Gherkins! Yeah! Pickled onions! Pickled eggs!" Ergh... "You kiss this man?" The Doctor asks Rose. Exactly what I was going to say. There's a pause, and then we all hear a big bang. We all breathe a sigh of relief. "Hannibal?" Rose asks.

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar." Older me says. She probably doesn't actually know that, she just remembers herself saying that! Cheat...

"Oh, well there you go then." They raise their glasses in toast and drink. "Phew!"

"Hold on!" Older me says, taking out her computer. "Breaking news is coming in on BBC 1. Hold on, I'll get it." She puts the computer on the desk, opens it up and turns it on. Her icon has a Panic! At The Disco on it, when all the guys were really young. She clicks on it and it opens to a bigger picture of the same icon. She opens a weird program I have never seen before and BBC 1 pops up. "Ladies and gentleman," The Prime Minister Slitheen says, "Nations of the world, human kind. The greatest experts in extra-terrestrial events came here tonight. They gathered in the common cause. But the news I bring you now is grave indeed. The experts are dead. Murdered, right in front of me by alien hands. Peoples of the Earth, heed my words, these visitors do not come in peace. Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds."

"What?" The Doctor says.

"Our technicians can, baffle, the alien probes. But not for long. We are facing extinction. Unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes! A nuclear strike at the heart of the ship is our only chance of survival. Because... from this moment on... it is my solemn duty to inform you... Planet Earth is at war." Older me shuts the computer. "He's making it up," She says. "There's no weapons up there, there's not threat. He just invented it."

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Indra says.

"They did last time." Rose says.

"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle," The Doctor explains. "They want the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out."

"They release the defence codes..." I say, realising. I never got what he meant, but now I do.

"And the Slitheen go nuclear."

"But why?" Harriet asks. The Doctor opens the metal shutters. The Slitheen are still standing outside the door. "You get the codes," The Doctor says. "Release the missiles. But not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate, fight back. World War Three, whole planet gets nuked." Indra gasps. Margaret Slitheen, still in her skin suit, stands before the Doctor. Huh. She got up. Should have stayed on the ground. "And we can sit through it in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed. Just parked. They'll be two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet!" Harriet protests. "This beautiful place, what for?"

"Profit," Older me says. "That's what the signal is beaming into space, an advert." The Doctor looks at her/me confused. Tenses. They are so confusing.

Hold on, that's what the TARDIS said. In The Doctor's Wife. I quote Doctor Who and I don't even know it.

Now, that's fangirl.

"Sale of the century." Margaret Slitheen says. "We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece. Radioactive chucks capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."

"At the cost of 5 billion lives." The Doctor says. Margaret steps at bit closer and whispers in his face. "Bargain."

"Then I give you the choice. Leave this planet. Or I'll stop you." The Slitheen all burst out laughing. I wouldn't me, suckas! "What? You? Trapped in your box?" Margaret Slitheen replies mockingly.

"Yes. Me." Margaret Slitheen laughs again, but nervously. The Doctor and older me fixes her in their gaze and the Doctor closes the shutters. The smirk fades from Margaret's face.

Rose's phone starts ringing and older me picks it up. She puts it back on loudspeaker and Jackie Tyler's voice drifts out of it. "Alright, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do."

"If we ferment the porch, we could make ascetic acid," Harriet says to no one in particular.

"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asks.

"There's loads of emergency numbers, but they're all on voicemail." The Doctor is standing quietly with his arms folded, leaning against the wall away from us. He is deep in thought. "Voicemail dooms us all," Indra says.

"If we could just get out of here..." Rose says, drifting off.

"There's a way out," The Doctor says. Everyone except older me looks at him.

"What?" Rose asks, facing him incredulously.

"There's always been a way out."

"Then why don't we use it?" The Doctor quickly strides over to the table and leans over to speak into the phone. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe," He speaks to Jackie over the phone. Jackie gasps. "Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare."

"That's the thing, if I don't dare, everyone dies."

"Do it." Rose says. The Doctor looks up at her. "You don't even know what it is, you'd just let me?" He says sadly, shaking his head.

"Yeah." The Doctor stares at her, not hearing Jackie's pleas through the phone. "Please, Doctor. Please! She's my daughter, she's just a kid!"

"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie, it's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because no one else will."

"Then what're you waiting for?" I ask and he looks up to me. "I could save the world but lose you." He says, looking straight into my eyes. I avert my gaze quickly. No way is that going to get to me. He's in love with me and he doesn't even say?

I don't want him.

Yet. Keyword being yet.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor," Harriet says. "It's mine."

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie asks.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people, on behalf of the people I command you. Do it." The Doctor looks back at me and grins. I hate him sometimes.

"So how do we get out?" Rose asks. The Doctor opens the briefcase containing the emergency protocols and then turns to address Mickey. "Use the buffalo password, it overrides everything." After a pause, Mickey starts talking again. "We're in. Here it is, uh... H.M.S Taurean, Trafalgar Class Submarine, 10 miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Right, we need to select a missile," Older me says.

"We can't go nuclear, we don't have the defence codes."

"We don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile," The Doctor is looking at her, really confused now. Heh, he would be. "What's the first category?"

"Sub Haffoon, UGMA4A."

"That's the one. Select." There's a pause and the Doctor gets worried and says, "Ready for this?"

"Yeah."

"Mickey the Idiot. The world is in your hands. Fire." We hear Mickey's heavy breathing and he says, "Done, missile coming your way." Harriet goes over to the windows and taps the steel shutters. "How solid are these?"

"Not solid enough, built for short range attack, nothing this big."

"Alright," I say. "We're not going to die, we're going to live." I walk over to the cupboard door. "It's just like at Questacon in Australia. The earthquake room. Apparantly, if stand under a doorframe, you can survive earthquakes. "Now, this cupboard's smaller than the rest, so it's strong. Come and help me clear this stuff out!" Harriet, Rose and Indra hurries to help me. Thanks me. Don't help.

"It's on radar," Mickey's saying over the phone. "Computer defence 556."

"Stop them intercepting it."

"I'm doing it now."

"Good boy."

"556 neutralised." The Doctor rips the phone off speaker phone. We all bundle into the cupboard, older me and Rose on either side of the Doctor. "Nice knowing you all," Harriet says. We hold hands and brace ourselves. I count down seconds.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.

Oh, hit us already!

Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-

Boom.

The cupboard is thrown around in all directions, I fall on top of someone, and then someone falls on top of me. Ouch. It finally stops and I get off Harriet, who I fell on last. "We did it." I say.

Now, that's much worst than the earthquake room at Questacon. We walk out of the cupboard and out of the cabinet room, which is a wreck, the table is to one side and and papers are strewn everywhere. We walk out of the door and a security guard comes up to us. "Are you alright?" He asks. Harriet flashes her ID card at him. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. I want you to contact the UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over and they can step down. Go on, tell the news!"

"Yes, ma'am." He hurries away again. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!"

"Well, maybe you should have a go." The Doctor says.

"Me?" She laughs. "I'm only a back-bencher."

"I'd vote for ya!" Rose says.

"Now, don't be silly."

"Same here," I say and then remember something. "But I don't have an English citizenship.

"I would," Indra says, speaking up. Harriet stares at Indra like he's kidding. He's not.

Well, what a wonderful turn out of events! Indra, the right hand man.

"Look, I'd better go and see if I can help." She climbs over the rubble towards the crowd of people. I nudge Indra. "Go with her." Indra looks at me, nods and runs off. We walk off together, even older me. "I thought I knew the name," The Doctor says. "Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms, the architect of Britain's Golden Age. And Indra's her right hand man." I was right! I changed time! Let's do a victory dance in my head!

* * *

><p>"What are you going to do now?" Older me asks. We're standing in the parking area of the Powell Estate. She's leaning against her red Range Rover. "I think you know." I say.<p>

"I know."

"I can't stay with him. Not now. After what he's said and done... I need somewhere to stay, and I was wondering if I could stay with you."

"Well, you are going to, so I say yes, so yes. God, the wibbly wobbly timey wimey-ness of this..." I laugh. "The Doc is going to kill me. You better go and tell him. And get your stuff."

"Okay. I'll meet you back here." I run off towards the TARDIS.

* * *

><p>Panic! At The Disco CDs? Check. Many Jay Jays t-shirts? Check. Photo album? Check.<p>

That's everything.

I run out of my room and pass the Doctor, who's in the console room. "Oi, where are you going?" He asks, and I swivel around. "Leaving." I swing my backpack onto my back. "You can't. You're not even from this time. Where will you go?"

"Somewhere."

"At least let me take you back to 1999!"

"No. I'm not travelling in this TARDIS. I'm not staying until you tell me you love me. Because I know you do." I run out of the TARDIS, with tears starting to fall, before the Doctor can stop me.

* * *

><p>I run to older me's car, crying. I get in on the passenger side. "Okay?" Older me asks, taking my backpack and putting it in the back. I get some tissues from the glove box and wipe my eyes. "Yeah. Let's go." As we leave the parking area, I text Rose, I'm sorry.<p>

Cheers to a new life.


	10. The Ginger And The Blue

**A/N - **this is an original episode

* * *

><p><em>▒ x. the ginger and the blue<em>

* * *

><p>Oh. My. God. This car is so comfortable! Here I am, listening to Panic! At The Disco, (the song, Hurricane) watching myself drive, but I'm not actually driving, and just sucking on Tic Tacs I got offered by myself. Sure, I'll eat them. I bought them!<p>

"I led the revolution," I start singing, "In my bedroom, and I set all the zippers free. She said no more war, no more clothes, defeat me... Oh, kiss me!" Older me laughed.

"Brenden Urie can do that do me any day."

"Oh, hell yeah!" We collapse laughing and I suck another Tic Tac. "So where do you live?" I ask. "Or more, where do I live?"

"You'll see."

"If it's a mansion, I will freak. Too much cleaning."

"It's not a mansion, it's an two bedroom apartment in a good area of Cardiff. Beachfront. Spacious, two living rooms, a library, two studies, a dining room, big laundry, humongous kitchen, two humongous bathroom and big rooms. It looks like a display house, I got all the furniture from Ikea."

"Did you have the Swedish meatballs when you went there."

"No way. They're disgusting." I laugh. "Yeah, they are."

"I've got the penthouse flat, so there's a garden on the roof. Not really a garden, just an outdoor living area." Woah.

"Serious?"

"Serious. Jack and Rose live nearby and all the Torchwood Three staff parties are at my place. And there's a lot of them. Everyone just comes over to my flat for no reason what-so-ever!" The song changes to Turn Off The Lights and she starts singing. She's better than me. Good, I think the most I can deserve is a voice like Rachel Berry. "I've got the top two floors and the roof," She explains, "The bottom floor, in the middle of it is the door and lift, and on that floor is one living room, kitchen, dining room, a bathroom, laundry and a study. The second floor, you get up two it using the lift, but you need to go from my apartment to get up to it. That's where all the rest is, and then on top is the outdoor living area. Good for getting a tan. But I can't do that, I'm stuck with this pale skin." She points at her face. "Still, Rose, Suzie and Tosh enjoy it, and Ianto does a bit too. I swear, if he didn't say that thing he said in Children Of Earth to his sister, I would have believed he was completely and utterly gay. He wears pink shirts literally everyday." I laugh at that.

"Have you done anything about the Cyberwoman?"

"It hasn't happened yet. Anyway, he hasn't got a girlfriend. I don't think it happens in this universe."

"Oh, okay..."

"But, still, I'm keeping an ear out."

"How long am I staying here?" I ask. I'm really eager to know that. I mean, when do I get back to the Doc? Because I know I do, but I don't know what episode I get back to him in and when it will be. Older me sighs. "I'm sorry, but it's going to be a long time."

"What do I do, then?"

"Work at Torchwood?" She turns to me and smiles. "We need another member."

"'Kay."

"We'll be there soon. I'm sure you're hungry, there's heaps of food."

"Cool."

* * *

><p>Oh. My. God. It's humongous! And I've only seen one floor! And we got a lift, a lift, up to the apartment, straight to it. Unbelievable. "Where did you get the money?" I ask.<p>

"I didn't. Psychic paper. Anyway, kitchen." She walked over to the pantry and chucked me a bag of Twisties. "Here. Enjoy!" I nodded at her and went to the lounge room. There's a plasma screen and movies from the 80s all the way to 2017. Where the hell did she get these? I pick up the Three Amigos (an all time favourite of mine) and pop it in the DVD player. The plasma automatically lit up and I started to watch the movie.

* * *

><p>Five days later, older me came home from work, took her suit jacket off and sat down next to me. I was watching Back To The Future III at the time and she said, "I need some Twisties." Oh crap, I thought. I ate them all. She went to the pantry and ran back saying, "Where are they?" I pointed to my stomach and she groaned. "Summer fringin' Watts, I don't want the Doctor not to love me just because you eat too much. Stop eating!"<p>

"I'm not a Time Lord," I retaliated. "I have to eat."

"You pig! No human eats as much as you unless they're a fatty on Biggest Loser!"

"Fine. I am eating too much. It would help if we had any dinner material!"

"Fine. I'll get takeaway tonight."

* * *

><p>I woke up to Brendon Urie. Literally. Other me made a big poster above the bed and put it there. She told me she wanted David Tennant but she couldn't get it. Apparantly he doesn't exist in this universe, and in Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire, Barty Crouch Jr was played by some other guy. I asked her why didn't she just get the Doctor to pose for a sexy photo, and she just laughed and said the Doctor always looks sexy. Unless he's an old regeneration like one.<p>

I have to agree there.

I'm starting my first day of work today. I've never worked in my life! And myself isn't even paying me, so I guess it doesn't really count. But it does, because I live in this penthouse apartment (with myself), which has a massive swimming pool on the roof, a plasma TV and lots of other great features. When she explained about the flat, she failed to mention that the bedrooms have massive ensuites as well, so yeah. It's completely awesome.

I got up from the four poster bed and went over to the wardrobe. I went shopping with Summer's psychic paper and got some clothes, but then she took me to a tailor who sells stuff for Torchwood cheap, and it's clothing just like in Skulduggery Pleasant. I mean, just call it Bespoke Tailors and be done with it. The dude who worked there was really creepy, he took my measurements and made the clothes within an hour. It's a suit with a TARDIS blue tie and a bulletproof coat that goes down to my feet. He also made me leather boots with TARDIS blue lace and on my suit jacket, one of the front pockets got a screenprint of the Torchwood logo on it. It's pretty awesome.

I got changed into said clothes and looked into the mirror. Other me also got me weapons, so I picked up my belt, put in on before putting the bulky coat on, and stuck in the two swords and a gun. My load should be really bulky, but the belt made the load lighter. Some 51st Century thing or something. I pulled my black and blue flyaway hair into a ponytail, leaving my fringe out. I decided not to pin it back, so it covered my right eye. I looked into the mirror, and saw a very goth looking girl looking back.

I don't think I should be called Summer. That's too sunny and cheery for what I look like at the moment.

Hey, I chose that name. Maybe I should have chosen something darker. Or something more convential.

I opened my laptop (Summer bought it for me, she steals Jack's vortex manipulator sometimes, and goes into the future to buy stuff. That's why most of her stuff is so new) and turned on some music on iTunes. Don't Let Me Fall by B.o.B comes on after I press shuffle and I sing it softly. I sit on my bed in my surprisingly comfortable suit and think to where the Doctor and Rose are at the moment.

* * *

><p>"Ready?" Older me asks, one eye going up like Spock. "Did I really take that long?" I ask.<p>

"Yep. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go," She walked over to the lift, her long coat swishing as she walked. The lift pinged open and she walked in, and then I did. She pressed the button on the lift and it started to move. "So, what do you think?" Older me asked. "About today, I mean."

"Scared, freaked out that I meet Captain Jack Harkness."

"Honey, he's taken and you're going to marry the Doctor one day."

"Yeah, yeah, he's still sexy." The doors pinged open and we walked out into the underground carpark. It was basically empty, spare our red Range Rover and a blue Mercedes. We walked over to the car and got in. And then it suddenly dawned on me.

I'm going to work at Torchwood!

* * *

><p>You never expect much when you start a job. Whether you're in a office, the best thing there is is a coffee machine. Or in a restaurant, you'd be pretty lucky to get a free lunch. Work is boring, and not something anyone looks forward to.<p>

Except if you work at Torchwood.

It's not everyday you meet Captain Jack Harkness, have a pterodactyl fly over your head and fight a weevil with a sword. I felt like I belonged for once in my life and it felt _fantastic_. When I first came in, everyone was surprised at how I was actually a younger version of their boss. Ianto gawped at me for the first hour, but then he got used to me. We started talking (talking to Ianto Jones! I'm just going to fangirl now!) and now we're really good friends.

Tosh was friendly, she did my medical inspection and chatted all the way through it. It was pretty fun!

Jack was a bit more than friendly. He flirted with me from the minute I walked in. He only stopped when Rose took him into another room. I didn't even want to know what they were doing. Even though I can guess.

There's one thing I was angry with myself about. Rose. I know she was nice to me all day, I am grateful for that, but I don't deserve and I still feel guilty that I left her. I shouldn't have done what I did, I didn't really think it out. I suppose she forgave me, she said she did anyway, but I'll still feel guilty for the rest of my life.

Torchwood is crazy. Three hours in, we got a call and Jack, Rose and I got in the black Range Rover. Jack drove and Rose explained what we were doing. She got out her gun and I got out a sword. We looked pretty badass.

The weevil was in a dark alley. Jack went first, got killed, and then Rose and I ran from the shadows.

I was the one to take the last blow.

It felt weird, killing someone I mean. I've stunned a Slitheen, in Victorian London I punched someone, but killing someone? That's a whole different matter. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to my normal life, studying for my H.S.C, chatting with my friends, composing music.

But at the same time, I couldn't imagine doing something that wasn't _this_.

It's like something Martha said. Get too close to the Doctor and you get burnt.

I'm writing this in the rooftop garden. I'm sitting by the pool with a chocolate milkshake in my left hand. Older me is doing laps. Jack and Rose are here but they're being antisocial. In other words, they're snogging in the spa.

Whenever I look up to the stars, I think of the Doctor. Older me keeps on saying I won't be going back soon. In a way, it makes me sad. I won't get to up to the stars, or enjoy those fluffy moments in the TARDIS. There won't be any saving civilisations, or any adrenaline pumping activities like that. Maybe in Torchwood, but not much. The most I will be doing is catching weevils.

Maybe I shouldn't have left.

I keep on telling myself that and it isn't exactly beneficial. I am happy with what I'm doing at Earth, and this may seem crazy, but I'm actually enjoying it. I am a pretty crazy person, and Torchwood is pretty crazy, so it's a good job for me.

Gotta go, Jack's calling me.

* * *

><p><em>4 months later...<em>

"Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!"

You know, there's those kinds of people that hate themselves and suicide for it? I think I'm becoming that.

"All right, I'm up!" Older me is sitting on the end of my bed, looking at me with googly eyes, her green, piercing eyes staring into my soul. "Happy birthday!" She suddenly screams, jumping up and down once again. "You're 18!"

"And you're, what?" I keep on forgetting that we have the same birthday as we're the same person. Well, wibbly wobbly timey wimey ness, we kinda don't now. She doesn't even know her birthday any more, but she counts it on the 23rd of July still. I guess my life is so out of sync with real time that it's probably the same.

"112!" She screams and I suddenly stop thinking about the day ahead. What?

"112?" I ask.

"Oi, you're in love with a 900 year old alien. Quit your moaning." She suddenly gets defensive, but then goes all happy again. "Anyway, presents. You're going to love yours." She runs from my room, shouting as she does so. "Meet me in the lounge room."

"Only if Brendon Urie's there!" I scream, running from the bed in my Incredibles pyjama top with Elmo shorts. I finally get to celebrate my birthday in summer, so I'm happy. Summer's birthday in summer. Kinda cliché.

I get in the escalator, and go down to the next level. Sometimes I wish the apartment had stairs, it would be so much easier. I mean, come on. The doors clicked open, and I ran.

To my disappointment, Brendon Urie wasn't there. Damn. Instead, older me was holding up a CD looking present. "Open it," She says, handing it to me. I ripped open the present to find a...

CD of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.

"But I already have it!" I say. "You already know that!"

"Turn it over." I turn it over from the lyrics page to the other side where it's...

Signed! I scream in glee. "When did you do this?" I asked her.

"Went to America a few weeks ago. Panic! At The Disco was doing signings, caught Brendon Urie, snogged him, made him sign this." Wait, what? Snogging? Brendon? Urie?

"YOU SNOGGED BRENDON URIE!"

"You better be looking forward to it."

"But, you're taken."

"What the Doctor doesn't know doesn't hurt him."

"Even so..."

"Look, stop being guilty. On your bucket list, there's kiss the Doctor, kiss Brendon Urie, and then marry one of them. Technically, you've done one, and are going to do two more in the future. Stop your moaning." I reached over to the DVD cabinet and got out the present I hid in between the DVDs.

"Here's your present." She already knows what it is, but I thought maybe I might of changed time. She opens the TARDIS blue wrapped present and finds a toy Sonic Screwdriver. "I thought, it would be good, to, you know, remember him." I can see a tear coming down her face and she pulls me into a hug.

"Thanks."

"No problem." She pulls out of the hug, wipes her eye, and turns to the kitchen.

"Bacon and eggs?"

* * *

><p>It's 11:00 at night, and Jack and Rose finally left. The remains of my TARDIS cake is sitting on the floor on a plastic plate. When I say remains, I mean crumbs. Older me and I had a pool party on the roof, making whirlpools to our heart's content with the rest of the Torchwood crew.<p>

There's one thing for certain, it's weird seeing Ianto out of pink.

I wanted the Doctor there. I could see older me wanted him there as well. It was just like she said, the Summer in between me and her is a lucky bastard.

I want to be that Summer.

I can hear something downstairs. It sounds really weird, like older me's talking to someone. I get on my dressing gown, and run to the elevator, and go downstairs. The lift doors open silently and I creep about.

I pass the kitchen, get a handful of Twisties in a bowl on the bench and stuff them into my mouth. Older me is definitely talking to someone.

The question is, who?

I creep past the kitchen and enter the lounge room. The TV remote is lying on the floor with Summer's toy sonic screwdriver. But on the lounge is older me and...

The Doctor?

Oh. My. Friggin. God! She called the Doctor for a booty call!

This can't be real, can't it? I mean, come on, here the Doctor and my older self are, fooling around (not exactly) and I'm just watching.

A bunch of words flicker into my head about who I actually am.

An idiot? Most likely.

A whore? Yes, probably.

A manipulator? A conner? Who the hell am I?

"Heh, I'm here you know," I say. The two stop snogging and look at me.

"Oh my god..." Summer says, drifting off. She's under the Doctor, and her head is leaning over the arm of the lounge.

"Great," The Doctor said. He looked as embarrassed as older me. But, how didn't she remember?

"Hello. Hola. All that crap." I know how unbelievably cliché I sound, thank you. "This is a spectacular show. I'm really loving this. I am going to enjoy this!" The two Time Lords just stare at me. "Okay, no laughing there. Don't you remember this, Summer?"

"Ah, no. Snog now, figure that out later. Get out."

"Wait, what?"

"Get out. I plan to get this skinny Time Lord in my bed tonight as it's my birthday and I don't want you interrupting."

"Weeell, technically he's on your lounge and if you are going to do it tonight, then I am definitely going to enjoy this. A booty call!"

"Shut up and get out."

"Ooh, scary Summer," I mock, pouting my bottom lip. "Doesn't the Doctor have something to say about this?" The Doctor stares at me, his brown suit with hardly any buttons done up. Ten, how I would break my heart over you.

"Um, I agree with ranga here."

"Oi! And when did you watch Summer Heights High?"

"You made me watch it years back!"

"So, you're just gonna kick me out?" I ask.

"Go to Jack and Rose's or something."

"They're probably doing the same thing as you!"

"Good point. Find somewhere!"

"Fine, fine, I'm going. Be good little Time Lords, or Ladies, or whatever. See you tomorrow. Have fun. All that crap." I wave and leave.

Well, that was weird. The lift clings open onto the ground floor. I get my keys out of my pocket and walk over to the Triple R, what I called the car. It's the Triple R, because it's red, and it's a Range Rover. Logic, isn't it?

I'm going to Ianto's. He's my best friend, he's just gonna have to take me in for the night.

Allonsy!

* * *

><p>Knock knock.<p>

No answer.

I knock again.

No answer.

Doorbell.

No answer.

I'm phoning him. The phone rings inside the house and I can hear someone getting it. "Hello?" Ianto says.

"Ianto, it's Summer. Black and blue one. Open up."

"Kinda isn't the time."

"I'm your best friend. Don't best friends open their houses for mates in the middle of the night?"

"Busy!"

"Just open it." The door opens and I hang up. Ianto's there.

Shirtless.

Come on! Not my teaboy!

"What the hell..." I ask, but my answer is clear.

The Cyberwoman is two metres away.

My first thought is, shit, shit, shit! Then I think, wow, Ianto's doing it as well! And then I think...

I gotta get out of here.

I run as fast I can for the Triple R which is a block away. I get in the car, start the ignition and hit the accelerator, going as fast as I can for home.

* * *

><p>I tear apart the half naked Time Lords, on Summer's bed and I tell Summer, "Ianto is having sex with the Cyberwoman."<p>

* * *

><p><em>5 days later...<em>

"What are we going to do?" I asked myself. This wasn't exactly a great topic since last Saturday, when it was our birthday and we found out about... yeah. I feel really bad. This woman is going to die soon and there's nothing we can do.

"Usually I'd count on my memories, but time is changing for some absurd reason," She lifts up her hot chocolate and slurps it soundlessly. How could she not remember? This is so wibbly... Does this mean that I won't remember?

"Well, what do you remember of this time?"

"I remember saving Lisa. But, that would mean Ianto would have to break up with her before he met Jenny. Or something or other... I have no idea."

"So, time's been changed just so Ianto can be in a relationship with our daughter." This doesn't make sense. Time and space can't just change for a relationship to occur. That's stupid.

"Yeah, probably..."

"What do we do?"

"Let time take it's course. Let's just lay low."

"But, I'm going to be guilty all this time!"

"And you think I won't!" She stands to her feet, takes her edition of Mockingjay, and take the lift upstairs. I sigh. This isn't going to end well...

* * *

><p><em>Three months later...<em>

_CRASH!_

Windows below us smash to pieces, the building shakes. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know it would be now. I run to the bathroom, and throw up in the toilet, and then I hold the toilet seat to stay standing. I've never been in an earthquake before, and I never want to again.

This doesn't compare to the Earthquake House at Questacon. Went there in a stage 3 trip to Canberra.

"Summer!" I call, and she runs in, like nothing's happening. She looks at my vomit in the toilet.

"You know, I've told you how many times that Twisties, Coke and chocolate ain't a good combination."

"There's a bloody rift earthquake going on, and you're talking about my vomit? What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Nothing is happening. I'm a Time Lord, these things are nothing. Just do enough dance lessons, you'll get good balance."

"Oh, shut up!" The earthquake finally stops and I retch another mouthful of Twistie, Coke and chocolate vomit. "Now that's done, I'm going to bed. Make me another hot chocolate if you're bored."

"You're the weirdest, ya know?" I walk to my room.

"Just noticed?" I call.

* * *

><p><em>3 months later...<em>

"Merry Christmas!" My older self says, waking me up. "There's a great big alien ship in London, so Cardiff is practically moving to see it. Well, not really. Just weirdos like us. Wanna go?"

"Wouldn't want any spoilers," I say sleepily. "All I want to see is a lot of presents and Brendon Urie. Got that?"

"Presents, not Brendon."

"I hate you."

"I can give you an alien spaceship?"

"Doesn't compare."

"What about lots of books, Hunger Games, Skulduggery Pleasant, Phoenix Files, all signed."

"That sounds nice."

"Lots of Jay Jays t-shirts?"

"Nice."

"Chocolate, Twisties and Coke?"

"Vanilla Coke?"

"You've got it." I run downstairs. She's made a mini feast from chocolate Christmas stockings, Twisties, vanilla Coke, gummy bears, bananas, cheese and bacon rolls (which she loves for some weird reason), and a cake that looks like the TARDIS. No, identical to the TARDIS. She's even made us, Jack, Rose and the Doctor. It looks really cool.

"Now, no eating the cake until Jack and Rose get here. They're coming in an hour. God knows what they're doing before that though."

"I think I can guess."

"Whatever. I don't want to guess. No presents until they get there as well."

"Yes mum."

"Shut up. It's not everyday you get to have Christmas with yourself and your two best friends. I want everything to be perfect."

"Okay, mum."

"I'll kill you in a second. I'll get us breakfast."

"Let's just eat what's here!"

"You can eat that later, I cross my two hearts, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. Just wait until the others get here."

"But you've given me books. Can't I just unwrap one to pass the time? I haven't read the Hunger Games yet and I want to!"

"No, no and... uh, no. Just wait, alright?"

"Pig."

"Love you too."

* * *

><p><em>1 hour later...<em>

"Where's my sexy Time Ladies?" Jack says, stepping out of the lift. I run to see them just in time to see Rose whack him about the head. I whoop. About time Jack had someone to keep him in line. "Sorry, just Time Ladies then. Merry Christmas!" He swoops me up in one of his bear hugs.

"Merry Christmas to you Jack, but GET ME DOWN! I swear, my hair will get bad. I did it as I was bored." He puts me down and Rose hugs me.

"It looks just fine. Not like mine. I'd throw immortality away if it meant I could get rid of these roots."

"Bleach your hair. I had brown hair originally."

"Tried that. Bleach came off."

"Oh, well... Merry Christmas!"

"You too!" We walk behind Jack, who's hauling a stack of gifts over his back. Apparently this is what they do every year, Jack and Rose come over and they have a Christmas feast of junk food for the whole day. Not conventional, but it'll do.

"Presents!" I scream and open my first one. It's a boxset of the Hunger Games and I can finally say, "I've read the Hunger Games!"

Well, no I haven't, but I will!

I've got a black and blue dress, Glee DVDs (she's hooked, as well as Jack), and movie tickets to see Step Up, from Rose; a red hoodie like Brendon Urie wears in the I Write Sins Not Tragedies film clip that says Panic! At The Disco on the back, a beautiful fob watch and a Kindle from Jack; books such as the Hunger Games, Phoenix Files and Skulduggery Pleasant, Jay Jays t-shirts and an fifty pound voucher on iTunes from Summer. Pretty good haul this year. As soon as everyone finishes unwrapping, I say, "Let's eat!"

I'm very strange, you can see.

* * *

><p><em>5 months later...<em>

"Summer, what do we do?" I ask myself, who's standing near the lift of our apartment.

"Fight, if they come. Hide, if they don't." Jack and Rose are sitting on the lounge, watching the TV for more updates on what's happening, Tosh is laying on the floor, reading and Owen (newly recruited) is drinking my Coke. I have the hide to go and tell him off, but I don't feel like it. Rose looks really upset. Today is the battle of Canary Wharf. Today is the day she lose her mother.

"I don't think they're coming. The Cybermen have been on Earth for about five hours now. London is being converted." Summer grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eye.

"I'm going to tell you something I shouldn't, and you're going to listen. The battle is longer because we're here. Because in that fight we're there and we try to save Lisa. And I'm sorry, but we can't."

"Wait," I say. "You said you saved Lisa. Have you been lying all along?" She sighs heavily and looks at me.

"Yeah, fine, I didn't. But now I have two memories, one I actually did, and one of what's happening now. Time's changing, that's what I've been telling you. I don't know why, but it is. This universe was made for us, a bubble universe of the Doctor Who universe, but somehow, someone's changing the universe we own. I don't know how, but it's orientating around Lisa and Ianto and the battle of Canary Wharf."

"But what is the change?" I demand, and she refuses to look me in the eye.


	11. Everything Changes

**A/N - **this is the rewrite chapter of Everything Changes

* * *

><p><em>▒ xi. everything changes<em>

* * *

><p>It's Llangyfelach Lane, Cardiff, and our work Range Rover pulls up into the small alley and stops. People are packing up and we get out. All of us leave and I shiver. Buttoning up my coat, I follow the others, heading for the dead body.<p>

We probably look pretty badass and impressive. We walk to the body and open our kit. Jack looks around, seeing if there's anyone around. He remains standing as the rest of us sit in a tight circle of six around the body. Suzie was on holiday for a while, so, yeah. She was in Africa researching when Canary Wharf's battle happened, but all the other times she was on long service leave. Ianto stayed back at base. "There you go," Jack says. "I can taste it. Estrogen. Definitely estrogen. You take the pill, flush it away, it enters the water cycle, feminises the fish-" Suzie takes a metal glove out of the case and slips it on her right hand. Tosh is looking at her own equipment while Owen has a digital camera. "-it goes all the way up into the sky, and then falls all the way back down on to me. Contraceptives in the rain. Love this planet. Still, at least I won't get pregnant. Never doing that again."

"You got pregnant?" Rose asks.

"Don't ask."

"A little hush please?" Older me asks, looking mock agitated. "You can play when we get back to base. If people see that my team is a bunch of two year olds, can you imagine the embarrassment I'd get?" Jack turns and looks at the others. And then we laugh. God, I love these times!

"How's it going?" Jack asks. Suzie is looking at the glove.

"Nothing yet. It's got to connect, I've just got to feel it." Owen leans in close to Suzie.

"Then hurry up and _feel_ it! I'm freezing my ass off here!"

"Shut up, Owen," I say.

"Why do you have a grudge against me?" He asks.

"You drank all my coke!" He sticks his tongue out at me and I give him the finger. We're just joking, but still. He drank every single drop.

"I can't just flick a switch, Owen," Suzie says. "It's more like access. It grants me access."

"Whatever that means."

"It's like..." The glove clicks and moves. "Oh, oh, oh!" Suddenly, blue lights in the palm of the glove activate. The lights around the body flare a little brighter.

"Positions," Older me says and Jack sits down.

"If I get punched again," Owen says, "I'm punching it right back." That's a funny story.

"Just concentrate," Jack says. "Suzie?" She gently holds the dead man's head in her gloved head. The sounds around us stop. The rain is still falling, but we don't hear it any more. The lights surrounding the body grow brighter. After a moment, the man gasps for breath. He looks around at the group.

"There was... what was? I was... Oh my God, I was going home." His voice is scared, really scared, probably scared a reason he doesn't know. This is really unpleasant...

"Listen to me," Tosh says, "We've only got two minutes so it's important that you listen, okay?"

"Who are you?"

"Trust me. You're dead."

"How am I dead?"

"You were stabbed."

"I'm not dead, I can see you."

"We've brought you back but we haven't got long, I'm sorry but you've got to concentrate. Who did this to you? What did you see?"

"Why am I dead?" The man is oblivious to anything except his death. This feels so awful.

Except, back in this world, people watched this and didn't feel any sympathy. I didn't feel any sympathy!

This fact angers me. People are dying and no one cares. Doctor Who, Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures weren't just stories, they were visions into other universes. And no one cared. It feels like the Hunger Games.

Yes, I have been quoting that since Christmas.

"Who attacked you?" Tosh asks.

"I don't want to be dead."

"Sixty seconds," Suzie adds.

"You've got to think. Just focus on me. What was the last thing you saw?"

"I didn't see any... I don't know."

"Who killed you, did you see them?"

"I don't know. There was... something behind me."

"Police said one stab wound in the back," Owen says.

"So you didn't see anything?" Tosh says.

"No." Everyone looks at Tosh and Summer. John looks at us. "What happens now?"

"Thirty seconds," Suzie murmurs.

"But he didn't see anyone!" Tosh says.

"Don't waste it."

"What else do I say?" I want to do something now, for everyone back in my universe who watched this. If there's a bubble universe of my universe of my Doctor Who universe where people watch Doctor Who and Torchwood, then, I want them to see this. I move closer to this man.

"What's your name, honey?'

"John. John Tucker."

"Okay, John. I'm sorry, but you don't have long now."

"Who are you?"

"Summer Watts, honey. Hey, honey, do you have any family waiting for you up there? In death?"

"Ten seconds," Suzie says.

"Yeah, but... I saw nothing. There was nothing. Oh God, there was nothing!" And with that, John dies. The lights around the body dim a little and we hear the rain again. That last bit... it chilled me to the bone. There's really nothing in death. Creepy.

"Shit," Owen says, "I said it was stupid, telling him he was dead."

"Well, you try it," Tosh says. She gets to her feet.

"'Trust Me', like that's gonna work." Owen gets to his feet.

"Told the last corpse he was injured," I say, "He wasted the whole two minutes screaming for an ambulance." I glance at Tosh, who's looking at John's body.

"Maybe there's no right way of doing it," Older me says. She looks up at Gwen, who's standing at the top of the parking lot. "What do you think?" Gwen runs away.

Everything Changes. Yeah, everything changes for Gwen.

For me? Well, this is just my life.

* * *

><p><em>The door opens to Gwen's apartment and she returns home. She's thoughtful as she puts her umbrella down in the foyer. "You still up?" She calls.<em>

"_In here," A manly voice calls back. It is Rhys, she walks into the living room and finds him on the sofa. "They said on the news, murder in the city centre, were you there?" She sits next to him and kisses him on the forehead._

"_No, I dunno, nothing to do with me," She lies and he nods. "How come you're still up though?"_

"_Banana Boat came round. He was saying he's got plans, he's off again next summer." Rhys's relaxed talking calms Gwen, and she needs a lot of calming after what she saw._

"_How come you're not pissed then?"_

"_No, no, we had a cup of tea. He's read this thing about diabetes. Me and him having tea, that's middle age, that it. There's some Chinese in the fridge."_

"_Nah, I'm knackered. You coming to bed?"_

"_I'll just finish here. This man's found his sister." Rhys and Gwen look at the TV._

"_I'll see you in a minute."_

* * *

><p><em>It's the next day in the Cardiff Police Station, and Gwen walks in. She spots Yvonne, who is coming down the stairs, a large stack of file folders in her arms. "Von, can you do me a favour? Can you do a search for me?"<em>

"_Oh, join the queue." She doesn't stop. Gwen follows her._

"_It's a 'Summer Watts'. Could you check her out?"_

"_I'm busy. There's proper channels." She continues walking. "If I've got time."_

"_Thanks!"_

"_If!" Gwen walks away. Yvonne tsks. "Young-uns."_

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Sarah Pallister, 72, murdered in her front room," A detective says in the Cardiff Police Station conference room. "Rani Ghosh, 45, murdered in Robintree Alley." Gwen walks into the room carrying a tray of coffee cups. She walks around offering them to the detectives. "And now John Tucker, 19, murdered in Llangyfelach Lane. So far, there's absolutely nothing linking these three victims, apart from the way they died. As far as we can tell, all with the same weapon. A blade, approximately eight inches long, three inches deep."_

"_Two women were stabbed from the front," Another detective says. "But John Tucker was stabbed from behind. What does that tell us about the killer?"_

"_That he's a coward."_

* * *

><p><em>An officer car is parked on the side of the road. Gwen and her partner Andy get out. "But those people last night," Gwen says, "the people in the car, who were they? What's Torchwood?"<em>

"_Dunno, special ops."_

"_Yeah, but what does that mean?"_

"_Bet you ten quid they're DNA specialists. It's all DNA these days, like that CSI bullocks. CSI Cardiff, I'd like to see that. They'd be measuring the velocity of a kebab." They head for the bar, entering it in the middle of a brawl. "Thank you very much!" Andy shouts. "Break it up, thank you! Break it up!" Andy and Gwen get into the middle of the brawl, trying to break it up. They push and pull, Gwen latches onto a man's arm, trying to get him to let go of the man he's holding. He pushes her off his arm. She hits her head against the wooden wall._

"_Ow," she says, and falls to the floor. The brawl continues. Gwen can't get up._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen is in the hospital getting her wound tended to. "Ow!" She says. She believes it's the seventh time she said it that day.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Gwen walks along a hallway in the hospital. She gingerly touches the back of her head. "Dr. Roberts to ME," An overhead speaker says. "Dr. Roberts to ME. Thank you." She just happens to look up. She sees someone that looks like Summer running up the stairs. She's wearing a long leather coat and moving quickly. Gwen follows.<em>

* * *

><p>I hate hospitals.<p>

A place where people get better. Yeah, right. Whenever I was in a hospital, tending to a broken arm after dancing or crashing my scooter I hated every second. The white walls felt like they were going to seal me in. The chairs that seem to be in every hospital were so hard. The screams from children to elderly adults having a needle, or anything.

Just so cliché that I have to fight a Weevil in here.

I know Gwen is following me and I know that this is bad. This is very bad. But whatever.

* * *

><p><em>Gwen runs up the stairs. She looks up and sees Summer running up the stairs. She continues to follow her. She reaches the top and see that the corridors have been sealed off. She hears a door slam shut. She hurries down the stairs a little and calls out to the porter walking up. "Excuse me, sorry." The porter looks at Gwen. "It's all sealed off up there. Who did that?"<em>

"_Thought it was you lot."_

"_But what's it for, what's happened?"_

"_Well, I don't know. Nine o'clock this morning, it was sealed off, they never said. Chemicals or something." He turns away. Gwen walks up to the seal and considers it for a moment. She enters the corridor. It's empty._

"_Hello?" She calls out. At the far end of the corridor, someone walks out of a side room. A bi-ped about the size of an adult human and wearing a jumpsuit. From this distance, it might even be mistaken for one, but it's not. "Sorry, I'm just looking for someone." The Weevil turns and looks at Gwen. It doesn't answer. Gwen starts to head closer to it. The Weevil doesn't more. The closer she gets, the stranger the creature looks to her. "Right, yeah," She mutters. "Clever." She raises her voice, "Anyway, I don't know if you saw a woman come through here, a tall woman, black and blue hair, in a long leather coat and a suit."_

_The Weevil still doesn't answer her. Now, Gwen can clearly see that it doesn't look human. Still, it could be a mask. "Okay, if you could answer? This is official business." The closer she gets, the better she can see the Weevil. It definitely doesn't look human. She approaches it cautiously."You all right?" She smiles and points to his face. "That's good. That's a good mask sort of thing." The Weevil still doesn't answer her._

"_Look, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something, but... I think we can stop this now, okay?" The Weevil just looks at her. "It's all very well playing silly buggers, but I'm busy, all right? Now, I'm looking for a woman in a big leather coat. I said we can stop being silly." The Weevil openly hisses at her._

"_Ah!" Gwen turns to see the Porter coming down the corridor. "There you are, I did ask when I saw Dr Mahib cos' I thought it was him who said about the police-" Gwen turns and looks back at the Weevil. The porter heads for them. "But he said no, then I said about the chemicals but he said don't be stupid, what chemicals? So I don't know, could be anything. Who've you got with you there then? So much for sealing it off." He sees the Weevil. "Ooh, ha! There's a face! Nice one. Hey, I tell you mate, you should try plastic surgery. Not on the NHS mind you!" He turns to Gwen. "You all right?"_

"_Yeah." The porter looks at the Weevil and heads closer._

"_Bloody hell, that is brilliant. That's like, em, Hellraiser. That's first class, that is." He points to the Weevil's teeth. "Look at that! That! It's just like real teeth. Don't it?" The Weevil grabs him and bites the porter's neck. Blood spurts out. Gwen and the porter both scream._

* * *

><p>Getting out of the lift, I see the Weevil bite the porter. I reckon this is a good time to step in. I grab Gwen and start running down the corridor with her. "Go! Go! Go!" I shout continously. Adrenaline on overdrive, Gwen runs. Behind me, Tosh, Rose and older me are spraying the Weevil with something trying to detain him. The Weevil drops the porter and covers his eyes with his hands.<p>

"Get it down!" Tosh screams. "Cuff it!"

"Down on the floor," Rose says. Gwen starts to run on her own. I stop and head back to the others. Older me puts a hood over the unconscious Weevil's head.

* * *

><p><em>Gwen doesn't stop running until she gets to the parking lot. She doubles over as she catches her breath. She hears Torchwood's black Range Rover and she runs towards the sound and is nearly run over by the big SUV. Gwen runs to her car and takes after it. She's not going to let them get away. She gets into her car and takes off after the SUV. She passes Andy who is eating from a bag. He looks surprised to see her leave without him. "Oi!" He calls.<em>

* * *

><p><em>While in the car, Gwen calls the police station. "Registration- Charlie Foxtrot Zero Six Foxtrot Delta Uniform."<em>

"_Charlie Foxtrot Zero Six Foxtrot Delta Uniform," A policeman replies. "Um, hold on. I think Yvonne wants a word." There's a pause as Yvonne puts on the headset._

"_No sign of a Summer Watts."_

"_Did you search outside Cardiff?" Gwen enters a tunnel._

"_No, that never even occurred to me," Yvonne scoffs. "Of course I did. I went nationwide. There's about fifteen Summers and Springs with that surname, none of them fit the description."_

"_I suppose she could've made it up."_

"_The only Summer Watts on record was Australian."_

"_That's it, she's Australian!"_

"_Which you forgot to tell me."_

"_So who is she?"_

"_A soldier for the Australian, American, British and Irish armies. Very high up. A commander, won't tell me of what. Died."_

"_When was that?"_

"_1941. At the height of the Blitz. On the morning of January 21, 1941, Summer Watts failed to report for duty, never seen again, until now. What's going on, Gwen, you seeing ghosts?" Gwen exits the tunnel and hangs up on Yvonne."_

* * *

><p><em>The Torchwood Range Rover turns into the drive in the Millennium Centre and drops off four people. Gwen stops her car and gets out. "You lot!" She shouts. "Oi! Torchwood!" They ignore her and continue. Gwen follows, before she's intercepted by a security guard.<em>

"_Oi! You can't leave that there." She turns to look at him as she continues to follow Torchwood._

"_Police."_

"_I can see that, love, and you're still not leaving it there." When Gwen turns to look, the Torchwood crew are gone. "I'm talking to you. Excuse me! Move your bloody car..." Gwen ignores him and walks along the water structure. No one's there. No one as far as she can see._

* * *

><p><em>It's raining outside. Gwen is sitting in the car and talking with an officer on the phone. "Did you get anything on that registration?"<em>

"_No such number," An officer replies._

"_What does that mean?" Gwen sighs._

"_It doesn't exist. Double checked with Swansea, triple-checked, there's nothing, no such vehicle. But Temple's been asking about you, Gwen. Are you in trouble?" The car opens and Andy gets in. He's wet and really angry._

"_I have walked. I have bloody walked." He looks at her._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen looks around the water structure, trying to convince Andy what she saw. Andy's not convinced. "They were here, and then they were gone. And look, there's nowhere to hide. They just disappeared."<em>

"_Temple's not just livid, he's doing his nut." Gwen walks up to Andy._

"_There was a man, I'm telling you, there was this porter, he was in a porter's uniform. And he was killed, or at least he was injured, right in front of me, this man in a mask, sort of lashed out, and..."_

"_And I've told you, all hospital staff, present and correct." Gwen paces._

"_I saw it."_

"_That's it? Gwen, sweetheart, think about it, what sort of story is that? You're not well. Come with me. I'll take you home." He puts a hand on her shoulder. She stops and turns to look at him._

"_They were here!"_

"_Come on." Andy leads Gwen to the car. Gwen glances back at the structure._

* * *

><p><em>Rhys is in the kitchen cooking. Gwen gets home. He turns around and smiles at her. "Hey, look at me! Hot pot! Or as the French call it, ho' po'!" He speaks the last two words in a French accent and Gwen smiles and kisses him.<em>

"_Oh, I should've phoned. I've got to work."_

"_You should be off sick."_

"_I know, but they were short and there's a match on tonight, so I said I'd take another shift. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Go on, forgive me. Say you forgive me, you do, don't you?" Rhys smiles._

"_Yeah."_

"_Yeah." He nods and they kiss. "Okay, I got to go." Gwen turns and heads back out._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen stands in front of the water sculpture in the Millennium Centre. She looks around and sees a pizza delivery boy on a scooter zooming past making a delivery. She gets an idea. She heads for the pizza shop. There's a scooter parked outside on the pavement. She walks in. A couple of customers leave with their pizza when Gwen enters the shop. She shows the pizza man her badge. "Excuse me, Gwen Cooper, CID. I'm making some enquires around the Bay. I need to check some people out on your list, if that's okay. I don't suppose you deliver to a Summer Watts?"<em>

"_Ah, I dunno," The pizza man says, shaking his head._

"_Well, could you have a look?" He puts in a search for Summer Watts._

"_Nope. She's not a regular anyway."_

"_S Watts? Or just Watts?" He searches for both._

"_No."_

"_Okay, never mind. Thanks anyway." She turns to leave, and then stops. "I don't suppose you've got a Torchwood?"_

"_Oh, we do them all the time. They're good customers."_

* * *

><p><em>Gwen carries two boxes of pizza and walks across the wharf. She heads for the tourist information centre. Unknown to her, this is Torchwood's cover shop. She knocks and enters the shop. It's a small travel shop with lots of brochures and pamphlets on the counter. Ianto comes out from the back. "Oh, hiya, sorry I'm late. Someone ordered pizza."<em>

"_Who's it for?" Ianto asks._

"_I think it's a Miss Watts." The front door slams shut. Ianto smiles and presses a blue button behind the counter. The wall panel behind Gwen opens. Gwen stares at it. Ianto waits expectantly. Gwen turns to look at him._

"_Don't keep them waiting." Gwen steps through the passageway. She turns and looks back at Ianto. With a nod of his head, he motions for her to go on. Gwen continues on._

* * *

><p>She really thinks we can't see her, can't she? Oh well...<p>

Tosh and Suzie are working. Jack walks past Gwen and heads to his office. Gwen makes her way to Summer's office. Tosh finally cracks, laughing, and Owen snorts. "I can't do this!" Owen says. "I'm sorry." He swings his chair around to Gwen. "I'm rubbish, I give up!" I crack up laughing and Ianto just rolls his eyes.

"He set me off," Tosh says accusingly.

"Well, that lasted no' point two seconds," Suzie says, rolling her eyes. Older me comes out of her office. "Come on! She was gonna say, 'Here's your pizza,' and I was going to say, 'How much?' and she says, 'Oh, whatever, twenty quid,' and I say, 'Oh, I don't have any money.'" She leans against her doorframe. "I was working on a punchline. I'd have got there. But it would've been good!"

"There's your pizza," Gwen says, shoving it into Owen's hands. "I'd better go."

"We've gone past that stage," Older me says, folding her arms and suddenly stern.

"You must've been freezing out there," Suzie says. "How long were you walking around? Three hours?"

"You could see me?"

"Hmm," Suzie says, nodding.

"And before we go any further," Older me interrupts. "Who the hell orders pizza under the name of Torchwood?"

"Uh, yeah. That would be me," Jack steps forward. "I'm sorry. I'm an 51st century idiot." Gwen looks at us.

"That man, at the hospital, that porter, what happened to him? That was real, wasn't it? He was attacked." I decide to step into the picture.

"He's dead," I say seriously.

"But there's no-one gone missing."

"We took the body," Tosh says. "Retrospectively changed the work rota, planted a false witness who saw him leaving the hospital, giving him an alibi for the next 48 hours, so when his body's pulled out of the docks next Tuesday night, he's only been missing for three days."

"He was murdered?"

"Yes."

"And you covered it up?"

"That's my job." Gwen turns and looks at me.

"And that other man, John Tucker? Last night in the alleyway, I saw you." I walk towards her.

"And what did you see?"

"You revived him."

"No. What did you see?" Gwen looks down at the pizza box.

"You resuscitated him."

"No, what did you see?" Gwen looks back at me.

"You brought him back to life." I nod.

"Yeah."

"Who are you?"

"Torchwood," Older me says, stepping in.

"What's Torchwood?"

"This is Torchwood, all around you." She indicates everyone.

"And what happens to me?"

"Oooh!" Jack says. I nudge him.

"Shut up," I say.

"I'm police. Constable Gwen Cooper. You can't do anything."

"Right then, PC Cooper," Older me says, suddenly excited. "D'you want to come and see?"

"See what?"

"You saw the murder," She motions with her head to the stairs. "Come and see the murderer." She turns and heads out of the room. Rose, who I did not notice until a few seconds ago, goes and nudges Gwen.

"Go with her," She says softly. Gwen looks at her, and then puts the pizza boxes down on the table and follows older me out. She heads down the steps and I sit down on my swivelly chair. I like swivelly chairs. Swivelly chairs are cool. Ianto runs down the steps to our workstations.

"Where have you been, tea boy?" I ask mockingly. "There's some policewoman in here, and I haven't had an iced chocolate in ages!"

"Oi, shut up Summer." He sits at his workstation. He's been a bit off since the Battle of Canary Wharf. Anyone who lost their girlfriend to the Cybermen would be...

* * *

><p>Owen swings around his chair as Summer and Gwen return. Summer starts making the introductions. "Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper."<p>

"'Doctor' Owen Harper, thanks."

"Toshiko Sato, computer genius. Suzie Costello." Suzie looks up and smiles from whatever she's working on. She's worse than the Doctor sometimes with the scientific things she says. "And this is Ianto Jones, the tea boy who cleans up after us and gets us everywhere on time."

"I try my best."

"And he looks good in a suit," Jack chuckles flirtingly.

"Careful, that's harassment, sir."

"Don't start," Summer takes control of the conversation again. "That flirt is Captain Jack Harkness, and the one he clings to most of the time is Captain Rose Tyler. They're my second-in-commands."

"Hello!" Rose says. Jack just winks.

"And this last tyrant, well, she's a bit hard to explain."

"Oh, I already know who she is," Gwen says. She then faces me. "Summer Watts, right?"

"Yep!" I say.

"But," Older me says. "The problem is... this may get a bit tricky. She is me. Well, not exactly. She's a younger version of me. So I'm Summer Watts, older, and she's Summer Watts, younger."

"Yeah right. You don't even resemble each other."

"Aliens." Yeah, like she's gonna believe that, being bloody Welsh. No offence, Rhys is so thick! I'm sure every other Welsh person is fine.

"Yeah, right. Let's say you're both Summer Watts for now, but I know you're not." There's a pause as everyone just tries not to laugh. "Why are you telling me their names? I'm not supposed to know, am I? This is classified, isn't it?"

"Way beyond classified."

"Then you shouldn't be telling me. What are you gonna do to me?"

"What do you imagine?" Summer goes into her office to put a coat on and comes back out. It's a grey leather one that she wears all the time.

"Well, I've seen too much. Your names and everything, and the Weevil, and..." She looks at Tosh. "You can dump a man in the water and lie about his death."

"Oh kay!" Summer claps her hands together. "Tosh, finish that calibration tomorrow morning. Owen, first thing, get a hold of Chandler and Bell, cos I think they're lying. Ianto, if he needs back-up, you better be on stand-by. Rose, try and not have Jack get into your pants tonight. Summer, don't mess up our apartment. And don't eat all the Twisties!"

"Don't count on it!" I say.

"Jack, if you do anything bad to Rose, so help me, you will die so much. Suzie, I know it's a pain in the ass, but I need the costing on the glove research, and as for you, Gwen Tennison." I laugh my head off. Did she actually just make a Ben 10 reference? As much as I love Ben 10, I don't want everyone knowing I do. "God, did I just say Tennison? That was dumb. Gwen, you're coming with me, this way." She motions for Gwen to follow her out.

"I'm getting tired of following you," Gwen mutters. Summer stops and turns around.

"No you're not, and you never will." She steps onto the large concrete block, also known as the invisible elevator. "Stand on here. C'mon, next to me." We all start to leave as Gwen and Summer rise up on the elevator.

"Good night!" Tosh says.

"Later," Owen screams.

* * *

><p><em>Gwen is drinking beer. Summer seems to be drinking coke. She watches Gwen drink, and then putting her glass down on the bar counter. "The thing is... I don't understand..." Gwen says.<em>

"_No, I tell you what I don't understand. You're gonna rattle on with that, "Oh, how can this be true!" and "Well, that's a load of crap" shit. What's it gonna take for you humans to understand we're not alone? If you want evidence of aliens, how about that great spaceship hovering over London, huh? What about the battle of Canary Wharf. A Cyberman in every home!"_

"_My boyfriend says it's like a sort of terrorism. Like they put drugs in the water supplies, psychotropic drugs, causing mass hallucinations and stuff."_

"_Well, your boyfriend's stupid."_

"_Oh, you've met him?" Summer laughs and drinks her coke. "So... you catch aliens?"_

"_Yup. Did it since I was 12."_

"_You catch aliens for a living."_

"_Yes, I do."_

"_You're an alien-catcher?"_

"_Yes, I am."_

"_Caught any good aliens?"_

"_Yep. Myself!"_

"_That's a hell of a job."_

"_Sure is." She chuckles. Gwen smiles at the absurdity of it all._

"_This is so weird." Summer smiles. "And who are you then?"_

"_Summer Watts," Summer says matter-of-factly._

"_I did some research and there's only one Summer Watts on record. And she disappeared back in '41." A sad look comes over Summer._

"_Well... that couldn't be me, could it?" She shakes her head and gets down to business. "We don't just catch aliens. We scavenge the stuff they leave behind. Find ways of using it. Arming the human race for the future. The twenty-first century is when it all changes, and you've got to be ready."_

"_But who's in charge of you? Is is the government or what?"_

"_We're separate from the government. Outside the police. Beyond the United Nations. 'Cos' if one power got hold of this stuff, they could use it for their own purposes."_

_"But so could you."_

"_All alien technology stays on base unless you're alien like me. No-one's allowed to take anything outside. Except for one thing Jack has." Summer says it with such conviction, picking up her glass and drinking. But she already knows her team is lying to her._

* * *

><p><em>Tosh reaches home. She puts her keys down and quickly walks around the kitchen counter. She slips off her bag and takes out a pouch with an alien device inside. There's alien writing along the edges.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Owen is in the bathroom in his flat, the shower on behind him. He looks at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He opens the medicine cabinet and takes out a full spray perfume bottle. The liquid inside the bottle lights up. He heads out.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Suzie is in the kitchen. She opens her bag and takes out the metal glove, the same glove that brought all those people back to life. She puts it down on the counter as she takes her coat off.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Summer and Gwen are still at the bar. "So, go on then," Gwen says, a bit drunk. "How the hell did you end up in Cardiff?"<em>

"_This is Torchwood Three. Torchwood One, was London, destroyed in the battle of Canary Wharf. And good riddance. They hated me. Torchwood Two is an office in Glasgow, very strange man. He keeps on having hallucinations, believing there's shadows behind him." Gwen takes a sip of her glass which is nearly empty. "Torchwood Three, Cardiff. Torchwood Four's kinda gone missing, but we'll find it one day."_

"_So you just fancied Cardiff?"_

"_There's a rift in space and time running right through the city. The Weevils didn't come in a spaceship. They kind of just- slipped through. All sorts of things get washed up here. Creatures, time-shifts, space junk, debris, flotsam and jetsam."_

"_Sounds like Cardiff, yeah."_

"_Hey, hey, don't knock it," Summer chuckles. "I'm a citizen."_

"_But where are you from?"_

"_All sorts of places."_

"_Thing is, we could liaise on this... the serial killer. I could be like your liaison with the police." Summer nods._

"_Right, I can see the mistake. You think because we showed up at the scene of the crime, we're out to catch the killer."_

"_M-hmm."_

"_Sorry. Nothing to do with us."_

"_Then what were you doing there?"_

"_Testing the glove. We need murder victims, simple as that. The glove works only on the people who were killed recently, and the more violent the trauma, the stronger the resurrection. All we need is fresh meat._

"_You see, we're not street heroes. We're worldwide heroes. We don't just save people who get murdered on the street. Yeah, it happens. There's nothing you can do to stop it. But, when the whole world is in crisis, we step in."_

"_No, but, you were asking that man, John Tucker. I saw you, you were asking him about his killer."_

"_He'd just been murdered, you're not going to talk about anything but that."_

"_You could get an ID. You could help."_

"_We're busy."_

"_And your work is more important?"_

"_Now you've got it."_

"_Well, that's tough shit. 'Cos if you let me go, then I have a duty, I can tell them what you've got 'cos that glove could help us."_

"_If you remember."_

"_What d'you mean?"_

"_How's your drink?" They both look at her nearly empty glass._

"_Have you poisoned me?"_

"_Don't be so dramatic, Gwen. It's an amnesia pill. My own recipe, with a touch of denial and a dash of retcon. Wake up tomorrow morning, you'll have forgotten everything about Torchwood, and you will have a massive hangover. Worse still, you'll have forgotten me..." Summer shrugs. "... which is kind of tragic." Gwen quickly gets up and heads out. Summer grabs her jacket, sighs, and follows her. She reaches her outside and screams, "Don't you think you can fight it by staying awake. I mixed in a little bit of sedative as well."_

"_Then I'll tell someone!"_

"_Do you want to do that? Do you really want us to come and find them too? Do you want to risk their lives?"_

"_You bitch."_

"_Language! Nice knowing you, Gwen Cooper." Summer runs away. Gwen watches her for a moment, then turns and hurries home."_

* * *

><p><em>Back at her flat, Gwen is quickly typing notes. <em>Summer Watts in charge, commander. NB- THIS IS TORCHWOOD 3. Another man called Owen Harper, doctor.

* * *

><p><em>Owen is in a bar. He takes a sip of his drink, turns and sees a beautiful blonde woman sitting at the bar. He heads over and stands next to her. "Hello."<em>

"_All right?"_

"_You having a good time?"_

"_I was."_

"_Can I buy you a drink?"_

"_No, thanks, I'm fine." She takes a sip of her own drink._

"_Am I wasting my time?"_

"_I dunno, are you?" Owen finishes his drink and puts his glass down._

"_Look, I've got to be up early and I've got hell of a day tomorrow and I really can't be bothered with all the chat." She laughs at his audacity. He digs into his pocket and pulls out the perfume spray. He sprays the glowing liquid on his face. He tucks the bottle back into his pocket. "So, do you want a drink or what?" She takes a deep breath, before grabbing him and kissing him passionately._

"_Bloody hell fire! You're coming home with me, you are. Right now!" She grabs him and pulls him towards the door._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen can barely keep her eyes open. She continues typing. <em>Adult 26-27, and a Japanese woman called Toshiko? Surname?

* * *

><p><em>Toshiko has the alien device in her hand and is at the bookshelf. She holds the alien scanner up to the binding of 'A Tale Of Two Cities'. The scanner lights flash.<em>

_She takes the scanner to her laptop and holds it to the corner of the monitor. The monitor flickers as the information is downloaded. The pages of the book appear on the monitor and flips as if it was real._

_Toshiko smiles._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen continues typing. <em>Expert, woman called Suzie in charge of glove.

* * *

><p><em>There's a dead fly on the window sill. Suzie has the resurrection glove on and touches the fly. The fly's legs move. It flips over and it's alive!<em>

_Suzie stands up and looks at the glove._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen can barely keep her eyes open. She blinks a couple of times and continues typing. <em>Torchwood READ THIS!

* * *

><p><em>Owen and the blonde woman are walking down the pavement. The blonde woman has a hold on Owen's arm. A man catches up with them. "Oi, you bastard, come here! Linda, what are you doing with him?"<em>

"_I'm taking him home and I'm having him, now piss off!"_

"_What the hell d'you think you're doing with my girlfriend? You bastard!"_

"_Hey I didn't know," Owen says, shrugging. "She was on her own. She never said."_

"_You tosser."_

"_Colin, button it," Linda says. "He's mine."_

"_Do you want to have a go, do you? Do you want to have a go? Come on then mate!"_

_"Well, if it makes it easier..." Owen takes out the perfume bottle and sprays the liquid on his face. Owen smiles at Colin. Colin grabs Owen by the face and kisses him."_

"_I'm so having you," Colin says._

"_I'm having him first!" Linda screams._

"_Taxi!" Owen smiles._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen continues typing. <em>They mad eyou amnsia, _she types, getting spelling mistakes everywhere. The document is as follows_

Summer Watts in charge, commander. NB- THIS IS TORCHWOOD 3. Another man called Owen Harper, doctor, adult 26-27, and a Japanese woman called Toshiko? Surname?

Expert, woman called Suzie in charge of glove. Glove best on murder cos of the trajuma the violencd, it brings them back to life.

Another Summer Watts is their about 19. ich. Rose tyler, second ni command, as well as captain jack harknes.

They use this alien stuff they find it and use it but theyc an do whart they want, noone is in charge of thrmdes NO ONE cos they don't anbsweerr to anyne.

Torchwood READ THIS! They made eyou amnesia. REMEMBER IT TORCHWOOD SUMMER WATTS

_And Gwen stops typing and falls asleep._

* * *

><p><em>Ianto is typing at his computer at the two Summer's apartment, older Summer paces around in the background. He accesses Gwen's home computer. He finds the file she just typed up, highlights and deletes the file completely. Finished, Ianto shuts the computer.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Gwen is sleeping with her head down on the computer table. Rhys puts a cup of coffee in front of her. He leans forward and kisses the back of her head. She wakes up. "Did you get pissed?" Rhys asks. Gwen blinks several times as she gets her bearings.<em>

"_No. What time is it?"_

"_Seven thirty. You said you were working last night."_

"_I was."_

"_Then how come you fell asleep in here?"_

"_I haven't, I was... typing. That is work."_

"_I'm not having a go, uh, I'm just saying. Not exactly clever going out on the lash when you've just had a bang on the head. I hope you didn't drive in that state." Gwen rubs the back of her head. "Who were you with? Diane?"_

"_Must've been. Yeah." She can't remember. She picks up her coffee cup and sips._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen walks into the building. Yvonne catches up with her and follows her inside. "Have any luck?" She asks, eagerly waiting for answers.<em>

"_With what?"_

"_Summer Watts."_

"_How d'you mean? Who's she?"_

"_Oh, well, don't worry about, just go ahead, wasting my time." She walks past. Gwen stops and watches her before heading upstairs herself._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen enters a room and heads over to a filing cabinet. A sergeant passes her on the way to his desk. "Aye, aye. Come to see where the real work's done?"<em>

"_Yes, sir, that's right, sir." The sergeant heads over to his desk and sits down. "How's it going?"_

"_Sod all." Gwen turns and looks at the victim board. They added a new drawing of the weapon on the front._

"_Is that the murder weapon?"_

"_Clever, mind, they worked it all out on a computer." The sergeant gets up and sits on his desk facing the board. Gwen steps closer to the board. "Took measurements from the stab wounds, __calculated the shape of the blade and stuff, even those prongs. I don't know how they do it. Nasty looking beast, though." The weapon has two smaller blades protruding out from either side of the primary blade. It's hooked design does more damage coming out than going in. "Do you recognise it?"_

"_No."_

"_We're trying to trace it. Can't be that many of 'em. Sort of ornamental. We're checking the CDE logs with customs in case it's been imported. Find the knife, we might find the killer." The sergeant sits back down at his desk. "Anyway, if it rings any bells, give us a shout."_

"_Yeah. Thanks." Gwen turns and heads out, her mind on the design of the murder weapon._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen is at her computer desk sketching the knife from memory with a pencil on the back of a used envelope. It's 2:00 in the morning, and she finishes the sketch. She isn't happy with it, so she crumples the envelope up into a ball and tosses it into the trash. She sits back in her chair.<em>

_Looking around, Gwen sees a thin booklet titled, _What's on Wales Millennium Center. _Next to it, she recognises her handwriting. It says 'Remember'._

* * *

><p><em>Gwen is out walking at the Millennium Centre. She looks around the area and stops at the water structure. She sees a figure standing near her. She slowly walks towards the figure. The figure does the same. The figure steps into the light. It's Suzie. Gwen stares at her. They're standing face to face on either side of the water sculpture. "Hello again," Suzie says, smiling. "You were right. You told Summer we should liaise with the police. I was the only one who bothered. So, I was the only one who saw the report." Suzie reaches into her bag and pulls out the knife. Gwen gasps. "They got a good likeness."<em>

"_I'm arresting you for... How do I know you?"_

"_I thought you might've seen it. And that can trip the amnesia, one image, if you're clever. He said you were good. Anyway. It's not much good now, I can't really... but you're gonna put up a fight. So I've got..." She puts the knife back in her bag and reaches in for something else. "Um. Hold on. Sorry." She struggles for a moment and then pulls out a large handgun as she puts her handbag on the ground. She points the gun at Gwen. "There. That's better."_

"_Put it down."_

"_You had to come back."_

"_Put down the gun."_

"_You're the only one who can make the link. Well, the only one in public. Torchwood's gonna find out by morning, but I'll be gone. I don't know where. Far away. What am I gonna do? I loved this job. I really loved it. And now I've got to run. Oh, Christ. How can you do any other job after this one?"_

"_Please. Put down the gun."_

"_'Cos' it gets inside you. You do this job for long enough, and you end up thinking, 'How comes we get all the Weevils and bollocks and shit?' Is that what alien life is? Filth? But maybe there's better stuff out there, brilliant stuff, beautiful stuff. Just... they don't come here. This planet's so dirty, that's all we get- the shit."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_I wish I could forget."_

"_Why did you kill those people?"_

"_For the glove."_

"_Just... stay where you are."_

"_I needed the bodies. That's how it works. Violent death. And it was so easy. To bring them back. I'd position myself behind the head, so they'd never see me twice."_

"_You killed three people."_

"_It was the only way. The more I use the glove, the more I control it."_

"_I don't understand. What glove? Where have I seen you before?"_

"_If I can get enough practice, then think what that glove could do. If I could get it to work all the time, on anything, beyond the two minutes, if it could work permanently, it could resurrect." As she talks, Jack rises up from the invisible lift between them. He doesn't say anything. "Resurrection on demand for the whole world, isn't that good? Isn't it though? Well, that's what I've been working for, all day and all night. The rest of them go swanning about, but I'm working. You've got to get inside this stuff. Surrender yourself to it. I did, with the knife, and the glove, and that's why the perception filter isn't gonna work on me." She turns and fires, hitting Jack square in the forehead. Jack falls off the concrete block and onto the ground between them. Gwen is startled._

"_What? Who is he? Where did he come from?" Jack is dead. "What have you done?" Suzie cocks the gun and points it at Gwen. "Please don't."_

"_I can't let you go."_

"_Please."_

"_I've got to." Gwen starts crying. "I'm sorry. I've got to." Gwen looks at Suzie. Just behind her, Jack stands up. The bullet hole is still in his forehead. Gwen stares._

"_Put down the gun," Jack says. Suzie can't believe it. She turns and looks at Jack. Right before their eyes, the bullet hole closes. "Suzie, it's over." He holds out his hand to her. "Now, come with me." Suzie's stunned. She turns and looks at Gwen. She puts the gun muzzle under her own chin and fires. She falls to the ground, dead. Gwen gasps._

"_I remember." She falls to her hands and knees._

* * *

><p>I watch as Ianto puts the resurrection glove and the knife into a cage-like box. He locks it with an official Torchwood seal. He slides the locked box up on the shelf. I look at older me. She turns and looks at Owen and Tosh. Tosh takes out an alien scanner device thingy and Owen takes out a perfume spray bottle. They both place their items on the table. More than a quarter of Owen's perfume is gone.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Gwen and older Summer are standing side-by-side on a rooftop overlooking the city of Cardiff. "Owen and Tosh," Gwen says. "You didn't tell them that Jack was shot in the head and survived. They were out of the room."<em>

"_You didn't tell them either. Followed my lead. Keep doing that, and you might just get through this."_

"_But she killed you." She looks at Jack who is completely healed. He looks at her. She turns and looks away._

"_Jack can't die. As well as Rose. As for me, I'm an alien."_

"_Okay..."_

"_But I am! Something happened to me a while back. That other Summer, she's me before I became an alien. Long story. I was killed, and then brought back to life, and ever since then, I was an alien. Same for Jack, except for the alien bit he now can't die. I won't even tell you how Rose can't die, because you wouldn't understand it in a million years."_

"_But how?"_

"_Like I said, it's complicated. A doctor told me one day. The Doctor. The best doctor I've ever known."_

"_Can you die?"_

"_Sometimes. If I can't change my form. Because, my sort of alien DNA does this thing that when I'm close to death, I regenerate. Meaning, I change my whole body structure, everything. That's why the younger me looks so different. It kind of freaks people out, so... best if you don't say anything..."_

"_It doesn't matter anyway. You'll only wipe my memory again."_

"_Why would I do that?" Gwen looks at Summer. "Torchwood's got a vacancy. Job going spare. Do you want it?"_

"_But... what do you need me for?"_

"_'Cos' maybe you were right. We could do more to help. What do you think? Do you want to join up?"_

"_Yeah." Gwen turns and looks at her city. "I do. Yes."_


	12. Cyberwoman

**A/N - **Some of this you have probably already read, just scroll down to where you have read up to.

* * *

><p><em>▒ xii. cyberwoman<em>

* * *

><p>"Okay! Come on, Gwen!" Owen screams, and Gwen gets in the clear. I pick her up with her squealing and place her on the side. We're playing a pick-up game of basketball in the Hub. Owen stands up on the workstation platform. He's got the ball. Shit. "Gwen, this is for you, baby! Come on!" He throws the ball to Gwen, and I intercept.<p>

"Ha, ha!" I squeal and the game continues.

"Just get it off her!" screams Owen, and Jack laughs evilly. Jack, Rose, and I are on a team, with Owen, Gwen, Tosh and Summer on the other side. "Take it out of her hands! Oi!" Gwen takes the ball from me. Shit. She tosses it up to Owen who is still on the second floor workstation platform. He's so close to the basket, I almost groan with frustration. "Oh, come to daddy!" He catches the ball, moves over a couple of steps and drops the ball into the basket. "Yes! First round's on you, Summer."

Great! "Which one?" I joke, and he shakes his head.

"You! You're not getting out of this one, honey! Girls, guys, gets your handbags!" Owen walks to his desk and gets his jacket.

"Of course, that was an illegal move," Jack says in my defence.

"Totally illegal!" Rose says, folding her arm through Jack's, leaning her head on his shoulder. Lovebirds! Of course I'm only being jealous because of all that's happened, but still.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, yeah, losers," Owen says, being mean as usual. I roll my eyes. "Bye!" he says to Ianto, and I stop suddenly, my red jacket only over one shoulder.

Shit. Really big shit.

I look over to Summer. She looks me in the eye, and just shakes her head. Leave it, she mouths. I look at her and give her a look, saying plain and clear that I'm unhappy, but I still shrug my second arm through my jacket. I feel like punching a wall, Summer's the only thing keeping me from doing that.

Of course. This has to freaking happen. I feel like crying, but I act like I'm okay, and I walk out of the Hub.

* * *

><p><em>Ianto is on the phone. "Can you make it two Pepperoni Feasts and one Meat Lovers tonight? And a tub of coleslaw. My boss says I'm not eating enough vegetables. And chips?" He looks down. The doors open and a man carrying a briefcase walks in. Ianto leaves the room and hurries down to meet this man. "Yeah, usual time. See you then!" Ianto hangs up. The man waits in the centre of the Hub. He looks up at the area as Ianto makes his way eagerly down the steps.<em>

"_Good to see you again, sir. Are they looking after you at the hotel?" He stops in front of the man, Tanizaki and bows. "Konnichiwa, Tanizaki-san."_

"_Konnichiwa," Tanizaki says. Ianto takes Tanizaki's briefcase and shows him in through the Hub. Tanizaki follows._

_Ianto leads him to the door at the end of the corridor. He puts the case down and takes out a key, using it to unlock the door. He unbolts the door, turns and looks at Tanizaki. "I did all I could. I really did." He pushes the door open and they enter the room. Ianto puts the case down in the room and they look at what he wants Tanizaki to see._

_In the middle of the room, is a partially converted, half human, half Cybernetic, Cyberwoman._

_Tanizaki steps forward. He can hardly believe his eyes. "My God! It's not possible! One of them survived!" Tanizaki exclaims. The Cyberwoman is connected to drips, heart monitors and ventilators, as well as many other equipment. Ianto steps forward and adjusts the bed, tilting it to an angle._

"_This is Lisa," he says. Lisa's eyes open. Tanizaki just stares. _

"_Is she awake?" he asks, looking at the Cyberwoman still. Ianto shakes his head._

"_No. It's just a reaction to the medication." Tanizaki takes his glasses out and puts them on for a better look._

"_She's the only one left. Across the whole world." He turns and shakes Ianto's hand. "Thank you, thank you so much. Bringing me here, I never thought..." He climbs up and checks Lisa's pupil with his penlight. "... to get my chance... to study..." He moves around to the other side to check her other pupil with his penlight. "... to work with... anything like this."_

"_Anyone," Ianto corrects, but Tanizaki ignores him, still studying Lisa._

"_Tell me, what happened?"_

"_She worked for Torchwood London." As he talks, Tanizaki checks Lisa's legs. "It was the end of the Canary Wharf battle. The Cybermen needed soldiers fast. They started upgrading whole bodies instead of transplanting brains using Earth technology. Lisa was halfway through the process when the machinery shut down." Ianto slips his hand into Lisa's. _

"_You found her?" Tanizaki asks. Ianto flashes back to him dragging Lisa out of the area as people scream around him. He screams in the memory, screaming obscenities, shouting out for help._

"_I pulled her out," he says simply._

"_Do you know the percentages?"_

"_The what?" Ianto asks, puzzled._

"_Some elements have been augmented. Some are still human. Sensory capacity, for instance. Her breathing and hearing appears to be completely cybernetic. And yet... there's also bare flesh." Much to Ianto's annoyance, Tanizaki runs his hand over Lisa's stomach flesh, treating her more like a machine than a human being, a woman. "Amazing." Tanizaki puts his hand on Lisa's machinery covered breast as he pushes himself back down off the tilted table. He doesn't think anything of it. He backs away from the table to get a look at the Cyberwoman. "Perhaps fifty five percent augmentation with forty five percent awaiting completion. Do you think?" Ianto doesn't answer. "Or perhaps, sixty, forty. It's fascinating."_

"_Can you make her human again? Completely human?" Ianto says. It's clear to Tanizaki that that's all he cares about. Tanizaki looks around the room._

"_You took parts from a Cyber conversion unit and modified them into a life support for her? How did you know what to do?"_

"_I told him," Lisa says, startling the two men. _

"_I thought you were resting," says Ianto. "You should be resting. How's the pain? Are the new doses working?" Lisa's eyes open more. She looks at Ianto._

"_A little. Oh!" She groans and pants. Then she looks at Tanizaki. "Is this him?"_

"_I promised, didn't I?"_

"_And you always keep your promises," Lisa says, trying to nod her head, but failing and gasping. Ianto holds her cheek to try and stop her moving, also trying to stop the pain._

"_I would like to ask her some questions," says Tanizaki. "My name is Dr. Tanizaki. I specialise in Cybernetics. Your friend, Mr. Jones, asked me..."_

"_My boyfriend," Lisa corrects, interrupting._

"_Yes. He asked me to come."_

"_We agreed, together."_

"_A few simple questions. What is your name?"_

"_Lisa Hallett." He enters the information in his PDA._

"_How old are you?"_

"_Twenty six."_

"_What is the last thing you remember before coming here?" Tanizaki asks. Ianto and Lisa look at each other. Ianto squeezes her hand gently._

"_Pain," Lisa says. "I remember my body burning with pain." Lisa cries. She glances sideways and looks back at Ianto._

"_You said... there was somewhere I could work upstairs?" Tanizaki asks. Ianto stares at Lisa. He nods, barely looking at Tanizaki._

* * *

><p>"Vanilla Coke, please," I say, giving my money over to the bartender. He takes it, and gets the bottle of coke.<p>

"ID?" he asks, clearly bored.

"I'm only ordering a Coke," I say, calmly even though I have a mixture of feelings and emotions running through me, changing me. "Surely you don't need ID."

"You need ID for being in this joint, missy!" He says. "Now hand it over or I will call the police. Or kick you out. Your choice." I sigh and pass him my new and shiny driver's license. He nods and gives it back. "Clear." I take the coke and go sit at the table where everyone else is at. Jack bought a pack of chicken chips, so I take one and nibble at it. Jack is making jokes, mostly sexual, and I sigh. Even with Panic! At The Disco blasting in the background, I still feel awfully vulnerable.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I say, standing up and walking away. I can feel Summer's eyes on my back, giving me a strange look. I snag a quick moment to look back at her, and she's gone back to the conversation. What was that about? Why isn't she feeling what I'm feeling? Or has a hundred years of life changed her?

I find a sign leading me to the toilets, and I follow it. I look back at the group, laughing, all happy. Not knowing what is going to happen today. And what will happen to one of my closest friends. One of our closest friends, I correct myself. God, in another universe, Jack is in love with Ianto. And even though I hardly know Jack now, he acts like a brother to the older version of me.

I open the door and go to the sinks in the bathroom. My black and blue hair is all crazy and everywhere, and my eyes look almost bloodshot. My clothes and make-up with almost only red and black is really making me look more crazy and goth than I actually am. I look like a real freak. I'm wearing military boots from Rivers, red jeans from Cotton On, a black singlet, a red jacket and a black chain necklace with a simple S on it. My black eye-liner makes me look evil, and my red lips are the only thing that looks a little bit pretty on my face. The only other colours are the purple bruises I have and the blue in my hair. My eyes are turning from red to blue because of nausea and I feel like vomiting.

Which I do.

I run to the toilets just in time, spurting my vile everywhere, the toilet filling with the brown and yellow stuff. I clutch my stomach, and it feels like it's going to burst. I then roll over and cry. Why did I come here? Why didn't I just stay with the Doctor and Rose, where I belong? Older me belongs here, with Jack and Rose and Ianto and... Ianto! Just remembering him makes me let out more sobs.

Today's the day Ianto's love dies. I know it's not my fault, but somehow I claim myself responsible. I could've stopped this. Older me is beyond caring. No one else knows.

I stand up and go back to the mirror and wipe my eyes and the vomit from around my mouth. I look even worse than before. One more person is going to die today. Not everybody lives. One person dies. One that should have died a long time ago. Everybody grieves.

"That's right, Summer Watts," I spin around. "Everybody grieves."

There, right in front of me, is a Silent.

Oh, shit. I remember now. How could I, sexy badass bitch Summer Watts forgotten them? They came to be at Downing Street!

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demand. I fold my arms and lean against the sink, reaching for my gun. "You were there at Downing Street as well. Just watching."

"I'm here to tell you your future."

"Oh, yeah," I say, mockingly. "Straight to the point. And just so cliché. You had to tell me in a bathroom!" Oh yeah. I've got heaps of others up my sleeve.

"Your future depends on your actions today. Follow the path your older self did, you live a life with the Doctor, forever. But, if you choose the wrong path, a song will turn herself against you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask, even though I already have a feeling of what he means. River Song. My hand still reaches for my gun.

"It means... your future can be erased. You go back to your original universe. You live a life with Leona Simmins and the love you have for her deepens." I blush furiously. How could they know about that? "The Doctor lives another life, with someone he deserves, River-"

"Bitch!" I scream. I then look around, to see if anyone is coming. After a while, I calm down.

"Yes," the Silent says. He almost sounds like Morpheus from The Matrix.

"Well, you and the Silence work with her right?" I've now got hold of the gun. "Well, I would give you a message, but how would that work if the messenger is dead?" I ask and I get the gun into the Silent's view. I pull the trigger and the Silent falls. It shakes violently and I kneel down to it's level. "Welcome to Torchwood." I then blow a kiss goodbye, stand up and walk out of the room. Funnily enough, I remember. It must be because I killed it. I shrug and walk back to where the group is.

* * *

><p><em>Tanizaki is working on Lisa in the cold storage area as Ianto watches. Lisa is on a table. "This first stage should enable her to breathe without the respirator." He injects her, then turns and types on the computer. "Once her body functions without support, I can judge what work is needed."<em>

"_What if she's not ready to breathe on her own?" Ianto asks, his hand on his chin. Tanizaki sighs._

"_You must be prepared for her not to survive," he says. Ianto stops pacing and looks at Tanizaki. He takes his glasses off and levels a look back at Ianto. "Sometimes... in order to save what we love," He looks at Lisa, "... we need to risk losing it." Tanizaki puts his glasses on. He presses a laptop button. The monitors beep. Tanizaki checks Lisa's pupils._

"_She's not strong enough," Ianto exclaims, holding onto Lisa's hand tightly._

"_Let me do my work!" Tanizaki says, annoyed._

* * *

><p>We've been at the bar for a while now, and it's now night time. "And she said, "D'you know how difficult it is to find a man in this city? He had a nice flat, all his own hair, so frankly, a couple of tusks, I can live with!" It was hilarious!" Everyone, not including me, laughs. Tosh's pager beeps. She checks the message.<p>

"UFO sighting over Cardigan Bay," she says, sighing. "Seven calls to the emergency services."

"Oh... Can we at least finish our drinks, please?" Gwen asks.

"Sure," says Summer, looking straight at me. "Take ten seconds." Everyone sculls their drink like it's the end of the world and we leave.

Like the Silent says. This is life changing.

* * *

><p><em>Ianto is holding Lisa's hand. The heart monitor is flatlining. Lisa gasps for breath, struggling to breathe. Ianto glares at Tanizaki. "If she dies because of you..." Suddenly, Lisa's eyes open and she gasps for breath. She looks around.<em>

"_Ianto?" Lisa asks._

"_Yes, I'm here! She's breathing! It worked!" He exclaims._

"_Why aren't I connected?" Lisa asks, frowning._

"_You're alive!" Ianto says, kissing her. "He kept you alive!"_

"_Thank you," Lisa says to Tanizaki._

"_This is only the start," says Tanizaki. The computer beeps. Ianto looks at it with alarm. He goes to the computer and taps on the keyboard. On the monitor, he sees Summer and the others headed back to Torchwood. _

"_We've gotta move," He says. "Quickly!" Ianto removes the tubing from Lisa as Tanizaki gathers the machinery. Ianto puts her arm around his shoulders intending to carry her._

"_I'll walk!" Lisa says._

"_You've only just woken up," says Ianto, looking at her in alarm._

"_I want to walk!" She shouts, looking at him. "Please," she says, softer. He stands her up. Tanizaki moves to support her other shoulder. _

"_Help her downstairs," Ianto says. "I'll clear up here." Ianto moves quickly to clear out the machinery. Tanizaki starts to move Lisa towards the stairs. She turns and looks back at Ianto._

"_I'm alive," she says, stating it simply and clearly. Ianto and Lisa share a look, smiling. Then, Tanizaki again leads Lisa towards the stairs._

* * *

><p>"All I'm saying is, once in a while, I'd like to drive!" Tosh says, arguing with Owen. I got stuck in a car with these two and Jack. Just great.<p>

"And all I'm saying is no!" Owen says, turning into a lane. I roll my eyes and try and not listen to their conversation. But whenever I stop thinking about them, I think of... you know what. Yeah. I'm stuck.

"Why not?"

"Look, I've shared cars with women before, I know what'll happen. There'll be an emergency, we're all raring to go, I jump in, what do I find? Seat's in the wrong position, the rear view mirror's out of line and the steering wheel's in my crotch. Time it takes to sort it all out, aliens'll have taken Newport." I snort and look out the window again. Jack, who's sitting next to me, puts his hand on my leg.

"Hon, is anything okay?" he asks, and I turn around. "You've been in an off mood all afternoon." I give him a sad smile and place my hand on top of his.

"Don't worry. Just stupid stuff," I lie, and I smile at him. He places a kiss on my forehead.

* * *

><p>We get to the cover shop and Gwen turns and looks at older me. "What about a rota? Different people drive on different days," she says.<p>

"We're a secret organisation, hunting alien technology from an underground base. And you want a rota for who drives?" Summer says. "We're not some homicidal vampire who has to keep his blood wanting state under wraps." She turns and walks away, but then turns back to us. "And that was a lot of spoilers for a show starting next year." I laugh and she smiles. We all go through the secret door.

* * *

><p><em>Tanizaki and Ianto help Lisa through the corridor. They reach the room at the end of the hallway. "As soon as they're gone, I'll be down," Ianto says. Lisa nods. Tanizaki continues to help Lisa forward. Ianto turns and runs out of the room, closing the door behind him.<em>

* * *

><p>We enter the Hub, and I go get a drink of water from the tap. "Tosh, call up the radar within a fifty-mile radius of the Bay for the last six hours," older me says. Rose and Jack head up the stairs to the workstations. "Gwen, check with that man, Neil, I think his name was, voice like Bradley James, at Jodrell Bank. See if they picked up any chatter around the time of the sightings. Rose, no time for a quickie, access the airspace provision over Cardigan Bay, also any RAF flight plans, see if it's just a case of mistaken identity, Owen, help her. Jack, look around the workstations for any sign of tea. I'll then know if Ianto was in fact here for a while, because he doesn't appear to be here now. Summer, with me." Everyone goes over to what they have to do, and I go to Summer.<p>

"Why aren't you more effected by this?" I ask. I feel like telling her about the Silent, but really, I don't think she'd believe me.

"History and time has to take it's course of effect," she says. "What happens today always happens. If it were to be changed, something else, way into the future, would have to be changed too."

"Like what?" I ask, and she doesn't meet my eyes. "Summer Eliza Watts, you're hiding something." She looks me in the eyes.

"The Wedding Of River Song. Today, Summer, your fate lies in your hands. You can either choose what I did, or you can do something completely different. It's all up to you." She turns to move away, and I grab the sleeve of her jacket, staring down at the floor.

"Thank you," I mutter.

"No problem." I look her in the eyes and she pulls me into a hug.

* * *

><p><em>Tanizaki helps Lisa back to her table in the centre of the room. "Take it slowly," says Tanizaki, helping her. "You're still very weak, this way." They reach the table, and he turns to help her onto it. Suddenly, Lisa grabs Tanizaki by his throat and lifts him up off his feet. Tanizaki chokes. His feet dangle and kick out helplessly. Then, he stops.<em>

* * *

><p>Ianto finally walks up the stairs to us, and I see him instantly. "Ianto!" I run down and hug him, while he stops. "Where have you been?" I say, instantly going into mum mode. Which is funny for me, I'm going to be his mum-in-law one day. Probably. "I was worrying."<p>

"Ianto!" Jack says, while Ianto is in my embrace. "Would you work some coffee magic?" I turn my head slightly to see Jack putting his hands together, saying please. Ianto nods and looks at me.

"I'm fine, okay?" says Ianto, taking hold of my shoulders and he walks away to make coffee.

But, Ianto, you're not okay. Far from it.

* * *

><p><em>Lisa puts Tanizaki on the cyber table and moves the table down to a flat position. Tanizaki wakes up, and looks at Lisa. "Lisa!" He screams. "Let me go!" Lisa leans forward.<em>

"_I can help you," she says, but she's not really Lisa anymore. Her voice sounds mechanical, cyber. "The human race is weak. I can make you strong." She turns and presses the button on the side of the table. Electrical pulses move along the wire framed table, zapping Tanizaki. He screams._

_The lights fade off and on as the power is drained. The centre of the ceiling units open up and the mechanical cyber conversion arm with it's pinchers and saws drop down. Tanizaki continues screaming._

_Lisa stands on the side and watches. The lights in the room flash off and on._

_The door slams shut._

* * *

><p>The lights flash off and on continuously, and everyone looks up at the ceiling. I feel a little vibration from my iPhone, I take it out, and even it's power is being drained. "What's happening?" asks Gwen, looking around.<p>

"Internal power drain," says Tosh, looking at the monitors.

"What's causing it?" asks Gwen, looking around at everyone, moving to Owen. Summer steps out of her office.

"Something big to drain that amount of power," she says, looking around, shrugging a jacket on. "Tosh, run a system diagnostic." Ianto then speaks up.

"Actually," he starts, looking around at us, but not leaving his gaze on one of us for too long. "We've been having generator problems all evening." Liar. "I was down there checking earlier. Couple of bits of cabling come loose. I thought I'd fixed it." Everyone looks at him, and I peer at him, clearly unimpressed. "Let me have another look."

"Fine," says Jack, before anyone else can speak. "Go check." Ianto starts to leave.

"Want some help?" asks Gwen, and he doesn't even look around.

"It's fine."

* * *

><p><em>Ianto runs through the corridors, the alarms blaring in his ears, but he doesn't give a care in the world. He wrenches open the door to the storeroom. "You've got to shut down the power!" he says while his eyes gets adjusted to the lights in the room. Lights flash as the cyber conversion unit is functioning fully. Ianto runs past Lisa who is just standing there. He shuts the machine, only to turn and see Tanizaki's unmoving body on the floor.<em>

"_Oh God! What happened?" He goes to check on Tanizaki, who's face has been completely shredded, and there is blood streaming down onto the table. His face has been implanted with bits of metal; his eyes and his ears replaced. There's also a piece of pipe sticking out of his head._

"_His upgrade failed," says Lisa, her voice unmoving and free of emotion, almost... cyber._

"_Was it an accident?" Ianto inquires, looking at her. "Tell me you didn't do this!"_

"_I wanted to repay him for helping me. By removing the weaknesses of his humanity."_

"_What have you done?" Ianto screams. "You've killed an innocent man!"_

"_It's alright."_

"_It's not alright!" Ianto shouts, looking around, tears running down his face. "They're gonna come looking for me in a minute. If they see the body, if they find out what we've been doing..."_

"_I can deal with them." Lisa says, stepping forward._

"_Don't you go near them!" Ianto says, putting his hand forward to stop her. "You didn't mean to do this. Something's happened to your mind. Um … just, um … some sort of side effect from this whole process. It's post-traumatic. You didn't mean to ..." he drifts off and looks at her, screaming, "You've ruined everything now!" He cups Lisa's cheek. "How hard have we had to work to keep you alive? And now you do this." He touches his forehead with hers, looking at her. "I need you to stay in here. Rest. Don't come out unless I tell you." He looks at the body, and then back at Lisa. "This can't happened again, Lisa. If you harm anyone else, I'll..."_

"_Yes? What will you do?" Lisa inquires, giving some emotion. Ianto stops. Instead of answering her, he turns and looks at Tanizaki's body. _

"_Okay, the body. Got to deal with the body." He crouches down in front of Tanizaki. "I can do this." He suddenly covers his face with his hands and cries. "This is my fault! I'm responsible for this!" He stops and braces himself. He picks up the body and heads toward the door. "I'll hide the body," Ianto says, looking at Lisa. "Everything's gonna be okay." Ianto leaves with the body, a million thoughts running through his head, one repeating itself over and over again._

_Lisa's gonna strike again._

* * *

><p>I walk over to Tosh's computer with everyone else as she shows us the suspected UFO image on the monitors. "That's a UFO?" Gwen asks, looking around. I look at the monitor and see what they're talking about.<p>

"Only just!" Owen says. The lights flash across the screen again, and older me nods her head.

"Arkan leisure crawler, first generation. Collectors' item, don't see many of them around these days. Tosh, send a polite message saying great to see them, but could they please get the hell out of our atmosphere as they're spooking the locals. And they can't have my twisties." Tosh types, leaving out the twisties bit.

"Done!" Tosh says, and swivels around on her chair.

"Shouldn't we be apprehending it?" Gwen says, frowning. "Investigating it?"

"Oh, please," Jack moans. "You interrogate an Arkan, you'll be in there for a month, minimum. And that's just the first question. They are so boring. Besides, they're mostly made of liquid, the cells would be a mess." Rose gives a funny smile.

"Well, keep me away from them, please," she says, laughing. The lights in the Hub flash on and off again, and we look up towards the ceiling.

"There it goes again!" Owen says, shaking his head. I turn to see Tosh's monitor reading a 23% power loss. Jack calls to Ianto over his wrist comm.

"Ianto, we've got another dose of darkness. Also, we need coffee. You found anything?" Tosh turns to walk on the computers and Summer sits down on a random desk, looking up to the ceiling. I power up my gun, just in case. "Ianto? I need to hear those beautiful Welsh vowels!" I giggle a bit and then realise where the hell I am. Today, I'm gonna be serious Summer.

Tosh's monitor reads a 50% power loss. "Power's draining to the storeroom at the bottom of the building," she says, pulling up a schematic of the bottom level on her computer. "Looking for human heat signals. We've got..." She shows two red dots in the storeroom.

"Two signals?" Owen asks, frowning.

"So assuming one's Ianto..." Tosh says, facing older me.

"Who's the other?" Rose says, looking at Jack. He considers it for a moment, and looks at Summer.

"Hon?" he asks Summer, nudging her. That was what I was talking about. It's like they are actually siblings. She frowns.

"I'm thinking we're under attack," says Summer, pulling out her gun. "Security's been breached. We assume battle protocols." She runs to open the weapons vault.

"That's impossible! Nobody can get in without triggering seven separate alarms!" Tosh says, looking at her computer. Summer swipes a key card in a lock. The weapons vault opens and Owen, Gwen and Tosh run to get weapons.

"Yeah, well," says Summer. "Looks like our system needs to be upgraded."

"I'll head down and look for Ianto," says Owen, cocking his gun. I need to ensure Ianto's safety, so I know what I need to do.

"I'll come with you," I say, looking at Summer. "You alright with that?" She frowns but then releases it.

"Keep your comms open at all times. And phones," she says. "Any doubts, shoot first. Priority is to find Ianto." Owen starts running down to the basement and I run after him.

* * *

><p>Owen walks in front of me in the empty corridors to check and I use the iHandy Flashlight on my iPhone to give us some light. We check each room that we pass, I check the left rooms, he checks the right ones. At the end of the hallway we're in, I can see a storeroom with lights from the inside flashing through the small window in the door. I stop abruptedly.<p>

"Owen, stop," I whisper, leaning against the wall, cocking my gun.

"Okay," he whispers back and leans against the wall. I get a call on my phone, and I almost moan. The music vibrates through the corridors and I quickly answer. "What?" I demand, whispering but screaming.

"Progress report?" Summer says, and I moan.

"Signs of activity at the eastern end of the main corridor." I look towards the door, where the lights still flash, red, blue, and green.

"I'm losing reception," Summer says.

"We're going in to have a look. Don't call again for about ten minutes." I hang up and put the phone back in my pocket. I nod towards the door and start walking with my gun forwards, Owen behind me. I keep my right hand on my gun, the other on one of my swords. "We're on our own," I whisper to Owen, and he nods. I reach the door, and peer inside. The window is too dirty to see clearly. "Get the bolts, quickly," I say, and Owen unbolts the door. "Okay?" I say, looking at him.

"Yeah," he says. We take a step back and point our guns at the door. "Okay, one, two..." He kicks the door open and we enter the storeroom and look around. Just like it is in the show. Owen looks at the cyber conversion table, and then it hits him exactly what it is. "No! No, no, no, no!" He says, clutching his hair.

"I know," I whisper, and step forward. I walk over to the table and press the button, it instantly turns off. Breathing a sigh of relief, I look at Owen, and smile. "It's wrong, but we're going to find out who put it here, okay?" I say, walking to him and putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he says, and just shakes his head.

"I'm coming down there!" Jack says from our comms, and I look towards my arm. I raise it up and speak to him.

"Jack, it's me," I say, sighing, talking softly. "We haven't found Ianto... but guess what. We have found parts of a cyber conversion unit. Fully powered up and working." I look towards Owen.

"This is no time to be kidding around, Summer Eliza Watts!" Rose screams into the comm, and I sigh.

"Really, I'm deadly serious! I don't know why it is here, or how it got here, but I guess it's what's draining our power?" I say. The comms go quiet and I look to Owen. He starts speaking into his.

"Jack? You there?" Owen says.

"I want you two back up here immediately!" Summer screams into the comms, and Owen just shakes his head.

"We still haven't..." Owen gets hit from behind suddenly by the Cyberwoman and falls to the ground. He's out cold. I turn and face Lisa. Oh, holy sweet mother of shit...

"Summer, you know who is here, now get down and bloody save me, you bitch!" I scream into the comms and face the gun to Lisa, shooting fiercely. I can't seem to get skin, every time I hit her she only gets a small dent in her metal armour. She comes closer and I back away. I keep on backing away from her and I get to the wall. Lisa knocks the gun out of my hand, and she grabs me around the neck into a choke hold. I try to breathe, but only a little bit of air gets into my lungs. "Let... me... go!" I groan and she pushes me onto the table.

"Do not struggle," Lisa says, her voice mechanical. "You will be like me." The table tilts back and she holds me down while she clamps my head in place. I scream and she doesn't move.

So this is what it feels like to die. To have yourself being changed. To look into some machine and have pain be your last thought and feeling.

"Remember me, Lisa?" I say, looking at her. "I'm Summer, Ianto's friend, the one that gave you that perfume for Christmas. Stop, you know me!" I struggle against my restraints and she ignores me. She turns on the button for the cyber conversion unit and currents run through the table. There's a feeling of a thousand knives cutting away at my skin, and that's just from some lights.

I scream with the pain, and my body slumps. My eyes slowly lose focus, and I see only black.

* * *

><p>I slowly put my head up, and look around. I'm in the Hob, and every thing's quiet, too quiet. I look up around the room, and see Jack. With the Cyberwoman right in front of him.<p>

So I lived. Great. Just fantastic.

"You've been hiding in my basement," says Jack, looking at the Cyberwoman, sexily as always. "That's okay. Draining my power, I can live with that. But now you're starting to hurt my friends. This is gonna stop!" Jack runs out of the room and heads back down the steps to the main Hub, where I am. He sees me, and motions with his head to leave. I quickly get off the desk I'm lying on and run for the doors. Tosh, Summer, Rose, and Ianto are down there, starting to open the door. I see Lisa making her way down the stairs to Jack. We wait for the door to unlock.

"Come on!" Tosh screams in frustration. I lean against the wall, clutching my head, but no one gives me any support. I see Jack getting zapped by Lisa, and nothing can prepare me for his screams. We all watch, Rose weeps and then the door opens. Tosh and Summer run through it, and I push an emotional Ianto and a weeping Rose through it in front of me. We run up the stairs and come to another door, and Tosh pushes the unlocking device on the door.

"You guys were going to leave me there," I say, panting heavily. "Weren't you? Leave me to die... again?" I frown at them, and we watch the approaching Cyberwoman. "Shit, come on Tosh!" I say. The door opens and we run through it. We try to close it, but the Cyberwoman pushes it open easily.

"Go, go!" Rose says, and we run up the stairs while she gets out her gun, smiling at the Cyberwoman. In one hand, I think she's crazy, but in the other hand, I just think she's immortal.

When I get to the top of the stairs, Summer and Tosh are there, and Tosh is under the counter messing with the wiring. "3-5-7, 3-5-7, come on!" I have no idea what she is saying and I rush to guard the stairs next to Summer. Then something dawns on me...

"Where's Ianto!" I squeal and Summer covers her mouth. Suddenly, the lights turn on, and we rush outside.

We run to the water tower where I see Jack, Gwen, and Owen getting off the platform. They push a weeping and squealing Ianto off it, releasing their hold on him. "It worked!" Tosh screams, running towards them. Rose comes running out and into Jack's arms. "What happened to..." Tosh trails off, looking at Ianto. Jack shakes his head and brushes the question aside.

Ianto turns and glares at Jack. He steps toward him and punches him in the face. "You could have saved her!" He screams, spitting in his face. He then punches Jack again. Rose gets in-between them, holding Ianto back.

"Argh!" Jack says, holding his face.

"You're worse than anything locked up down there!" Ianto screams. "One day, I'll have the chance to save you... and I'll watch you suffer and die." I go to Ianto and take him from Rose, and push him away.

"It's not worth it," I say, and I look him in the eye. He refuses to look back at me.

"It was the only thing that would stop her!" Jack says, clutching his bleeding nose.

Tosh runs up to me. "Listen, when I was at reception," she whispers. "I managed to trip the lockdown timer. The power should be coming back on any second. We can get back in. Tell... other you." Ianto overhears me, his eyes widen, and he runs towards Torchwood.

"Ianto!" I scream, running after him. And then I realise something.

I have to beat everyone except Ianto there.

* * *

><p>I run after Ianto as he runs through the corridors, the lights flicker on and off above me. I run to the storeroom, where Ianto is facing a gun at the pizza girl I recognise, but she's bloodied and she had a cut on her forehead. Basically, from my knowledge of the show, she's Lisa. "What are you doing?" Lisa says, stepping forward. "Ianto, it's me! You wouldn't shoot me. I did this for you!"<p>

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Ianto can't do it though. He cries and drops the gun. "Lisa!" I load the gun, and they haven't noticed me.

"We can be upgraded … together." Lisa says, and the word 'together' sets me off.

_Two lives. Two lives together entwined. The ever-changing man and his constant companion, travelling, loving. A child, born from love and hope and the stars. A love._

_One life. Forever fighting and forever in war. With friends and the hero but with a terrible, terrible choice. A life._

I've made my decision.

I set my gun to the roof and shoot, using the bullet already ready. As Lisa faints and Ianto holds her, I turn around and look at Summer Watts, the Summer Watts who chose love. And I smile.

"I choose life."

* * *

><p>We tried to keep her alive.<p>

We tried as hard as we could. For the pizza girl's family and for Ianto. For anyone who held her dear and anyone who held Lisa dear.

But it didn't work.

It's been five days after she died, after she had struggled on for about two weeks. At times, I think maybe I should've chosen love, but I gave Ianto love instead. He had two weeks to be with her, properly. The first thing we did was clear her head from the Cyber thoughts, so in the time she was alive, she was thinking properly. Ianto spent all the time he could with her.

She was able to walk around for the first week. We sealed up the cut on her forehead and cleaned her up, she was even able to go out. And she enjoyed it. She even went shopping with me, it felt like the old days.

And then, on the eighth day, she fell over while we were out getting chips. We thought it was just a small tumble, but she was screaming in pain when we got back to the Hub. After the days, her health kept on decreasing and decreasing, until, she suddenly died. Her heart just went out.

The funeral was two days ago. Ianto has stayed with us the whole time, unable to be alone. And we don't let him, we know what he may do.

So here I am, standing at the top of some building in Cardiff, tossing a vortex manipulator and catching it over and over again. Summer gave it to me when I left the Hub today. Obviously I'm not coming back. I have all the essentials I need. All my presents and all my tech. And my weapons. Anyway, most of my stuff is on the TARDIS anyway.

I press buttons on the vortex manipulator and slip it onto my wrist. I stand up and stand away from the edge. There is something I need to do first.

My hand reaches for my phone and call the number I've called countless times the past year. I look towards the Millennium Centre, and the call gets answered by the answerphone.

"Hey, this is Summer, I can't answer at the moment, probably because I'm being purely awesome. Please leave a message at the beepy thingy that comes after my awesome voice." The beep sounds and I give a huge huff.

"Don't bother answering this, I hate conversations in times like this," I say, and I look towards the ground. "It's me, you, Summer. I think you know why I'm calling. It's because... I'm leaving. I have the vortex manipulator. I just can't do this anymore. I don't exactly think I was ready, really.

"And you know what? I did enjoy every single second of my time here. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was being better off than I ever had in my bitter life. Maybe it was the fact that for once, I was loved. I became an adult here, I grew up. But, it's time I left home." I go to slide the button that says 'end call', but then I remember something. I quickly put the phone back to my ear.

"And you know what Summer? You were fantastic. Thank you." I smile and I hang up, placing my phone back in my pocket. I put on my sunglasses and I look even more cooler. Smiling, I press the button that basically says 'go' on the vortex manipulator.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - **The next chapter will be a rewrite of The Empty Child.


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